That's All Right
by kaltee
Summary: Changing everything in your life isn't easy. After soul-searching and heavy drinking, Relena, Dorothy and Hilde decide to do just that. Hellbound for change, they set out to fix their lives, giving everyone much more than they ever expected... R&R or R
1. Inspiration

Place: Madame Keeri's Karaoke Bar

Time: 23:23 (11:23 pm)

Status: Anti-sober

Under the dull lights of Madame Keeri's Karaoke Bar sat three tired, drunk girls. They were leaning on the countertop and each other to keep themselves from falling to the floor, a mere two feet below. However, when you have consumed the amount of alcohol that they had, the floor is a much farther and less steady a surface then you could remember the couple hours before. They had come to the conclusion that the only way to save themselves was by drowning their self-pity and anger in the bottom of a 4 oz vodka bottle (among others), but, as we all know, self-pity and anger are both very strong swimmers, and do not drown without a fight.

It was a sad sight.

They had come together under the dull lights of Madame Keeri's Karaoke Bar for one reason; to bitch about their lives, again. They were regulars here; Madame Keeri knew them well, and tended to give them a few free drinks to help them forget their lives for a while. She liked the girls, and recognized the pain they were going through. She, herself, had gone through far too many poor relationships to not sympathize with the girls.

To the left of the trio was a young, tired looking blond. Her hair often contained two braids joined in the back, and she was fond of twirling a few strands around her left index finger. Tonight, however, her hair was matted and unkempt, a spray of indifference covering her head. It hung in her face and in her eyes, blinding her already anti-sober sight.

"I hate him," was all she said, her voice showing her level of anti-soberness, as well as her sorrow and anguish. Tears formed in her eyes, and within a few moments, she burst out in miserable sobs.

In the middle was a raven-haired girl, and she nodded in a sympathetic but somehow sluggish way. "I hate him too," she said, her voice slurred and mispronouncing. She paused for a moment, then asked, "Who do we hate?"

Suddenly ceasing from her tears, the blond replied, spitting the word with a near-toxic level of contempt, "Heero."

"Oh," said the raven-haired one, reaching across the bar to grab hold of a bottle of a nameless drink. "Then never mind, I thought you meant someone else." She tipped the bottle back, hoping that the majority of its contents would reach her mouth before spraying over her clothing. It didn't, but she didn't seem to mind as much as she thought she would.

"Who did you mean instead?" the third girl replied, regaining consciousness from the four shots of tequila a few minutes ago, lapsing from the earlier conversations completely.

"Duo Maxwell," the raven haired girl said, attempting to mimic the first girl's contempt.

The third girl nodded her head in acknowledgement, an act so deadly to her anti-sober and tequila-stricken mind that it hurled her into a state of vertigo, sending her reeling to the ground. She landed with a chaotic thud, giggling at the sight she thought she saw that was her falling. Her pale blue eyes were unfocused and mischievous, showing a rare phenomenon that was called, 'cheerful Dorothy'.

It was, indeed, a sad day in the universe.

"Well I don't care," said the blond, suddenly remembering the fact that her name was Relena, "I don't, not if you're mad at Duo; Heero's the real bastard." She attempted to pound her fist angrily on the table, but managed only to make her hand hurt really really bad.

From the floor back onto her stool crawled Dorothy, giggled profoundly at something unknown to this world. "Doodoododo," she hummed charismatically, an act she would regret in the morning. "Come on Hilde, Relena. Ka-re-oh-kee! Sing sing sing," she chimed, her face broken into a wide smile.

"Can't," replied Hilde, her voice filled to the brim with sarcasm, "Duo hasn't given me permission." She spat the last word angrily, her face scrunching into what she hoped was an angry look. "I feel like he's taking me for granted. I end up always doing the dishes, always doing _his_ laundry, always cleaning up after him; he doesn't even acknowledge all I've done for him!"

Relena crossed her eyes for a moment, hoping that, even for a glimpse of a second, she could see herself. It didn't occur, so she turned to face Dorothy. "It's gotta be a good song, otherwise I'm too angry," she responded, managing to sound half as angry and twice as melodramatic as she really was. She pulled the whisky from Hilde and poured it facing her mouth, but found the bottle empty. She sighed and continued, "I mean, what the hell does it take to get Mr. Yuy to actually notice me? I mean, I'm not ugly am I? At last count, I was pretty…"

"Fabulous," Dorothy said, sounding not thrilled or entertained at all. She swung her hands to an invisible beat that only she could here. "Lately I feel like Quatre can't make a decision for himself, he's always gotta check in with me."

"Well I say we get rid of our guys," Hilde said, inspiration striking her as quickly as her hangover would the next morning. "We can live on our own, without them. We did it before they came along, right?"

Dorothy appeared, as always when she was anti-sober, amused. "I love Quatre, but could live without him. He's just so…clingy. I can't handle a guy who can't stand up for what he believes in."

Relena stared fixedly on the bowl of peanuts near the end of the countertop. She replied suddenly, "Heero is always saying to me 'Omae a kurosu -Death Glare- die'. I mean, enough talk, more action! Do it or stop saying it!" She banged her fist pointedly on the table, managing to injure it once again. Suddenly she burst into tears, her voice cracking and pained, "_Look at ME_!" and slumped into a pose of absolute sorrow onto the countertop.

"The boys have to realize we're people too; they are not in total control of our lives," Hilde said, grabbing a new bottle and pouring the malt whiskey into her mouth.

Dorothy giggled. "Giiiirls," she said, her voice containing a playful, singsong tone. "I know a song to sing, I know a song to sing," she chimed, her face still broken wide into a grin. Before the girls could respond, she stood up and ran to the stage, flipping through the choices of songs they had. After a couple seconds she shouted "Its here! They have it! Get up here Relena; Hilde; we have a change of lifestyle to put in motion." She grabbed the microphone, stretching out its cord so it would reach to the top of a nearby table, from what she was standing on.

"Girls, it's time to make a stand! Cry out for your independence as a woman in this beautiful country!"

Perhaps it was because there was a sense of hopefulness in Dorothy's voice, perhaps because they were so desperate for a change; perhaps because the alcohol they had consumed felt like partying, but whatever the reason, Hilde and Relena agreed. They stumbled their way across the room, stopping every once and a while to regain their balance from the spinning floor.

"Okay, what's the song?" Relena asked, excitement rising in her voice.

Dorothy grinned and replied, "Leslie Gore, of course." She pressed the button, and the music began. She held the microphone in front of them so all could reach and sing into it.

As if by magic, they had regained a sober level high enough to harmoniously recount the song.

"_You don't own me, I'm not just one of your many toys_…"

From behind the countertop across the room sat Madame Keeri herself, smiling at the drunken, hope-filled sight that was the three girls. They reminded her so much of herself as a young girl that she found herself longing for her past, the first time in oh so long.


	2. Competition

Chapter 02 - Competition

Place: Trowa Barton's Residence

101010101

Gathered around a small cedar table sat three adolescent boys, frustrated from attempting to set up new guidelines for Registered Mobile Suit Tournament (RMST for short). At first, a few months ago, the Gundam pilots had simply began fighting with their personal mobile suits to fill their time, now the war was over. But soon a crowd had gathered, and other pilots had wanted to join in the non-lethal competition. Officials from the surrounding area said the boys were allowed to compete and administer over the regulated, friendly contest amongst other pilots. They sat there now, holding freshly poured tea (a new recipe by Catherine herself), waiting for the remaining pilot to arrive for the meeting.

"Where the hell is Quatre?" the braided youth asked simply, his forehead furrowed in impatience. From the kitchen, Trowa could be heard, helping Catherine remove of the dishes from the late night dinner. A plate fell to the floor, and Catherine was giggling maniacally. Apparently, clattering dishes were very funny.

Wufei grunted softly, readjusting himself on the chesterfield. "He probably is still trying to get that short leash of Dorothy's off from around his neck."

Duo smiled at the comment. "Well that sounds like Quatre; whapoosh!" he said, wagging his finger like a whip. He set down the teacup on the table, making sure to avoid the coaster and purposefully leaving a ring. "So Heero, anything to report?"

For a moment, Heero's blue eyes snapped open, as if startled. Duo looked curiously at him. "What's up? Relena-senses tingling? Do you need a place to hide?" he asked sneeringly, causing a soft laughter to arise from Wufei.

"Hn," was all Heero said, for it was all he ever said. In fact, he had not seen Relena, even within the past week. Very strange.

There were a few times when he though he had smelled the faint lilac scent of her perfume, floating across the crowds to him, but, no matter how long he searched, he couldn't find any trace of Relena. Heero had simply shrugged this off as his imagination, even though he never believed he had one.

"Uh, earth to Heero," Duo said, waving his hand furiously in front of Heero's vacant eyes. "What is the status of the RMST in the Western Hemisphere?"

Heero shook his head, trying to rid the memory of the lilacs from his mind. He responded casually, "The battles held in the Americas have been going on smoothly; no casualties or excessive property damage. The political powers have agreed to allow RMST to continue, but only on battlegrounds that are being built as we speak." He paused, sighting through the large bay window the blond youth running up to the house. "Quatre's here," was all he said, gesturing at the front door.

The door burst open, revealing a tired, shaky Quatre. He leaned against the door, momentarily stunned. He said breathlessly, "Did I miss anything? Sorry I'm late." His blond hair hung tiredly in his face, clouding his vision. A faint glisten of sweat covered his brow, which he wiped quickly off with the back of his sleeve.

"What kept you?" asked Trowa, although he already knew the answer. Quatre had been late for these meetings before.

"Dorothy had wanted to eat out tonight, but we ran a little late returning home." This was only a half-truth. Dorothy had attempted to be pleasant and cook a formal dinner at her place, but she accidentally left the roast in too long and set the kitchen on fire. After hastily extinguishing the small blaze, she quickly suggested that they go to Denny's or McDonalds, somewhere more 'user-friendly' and less likely to burst into flames.

Duo frowned. "Why do you date her if she just bosses you around? Me or Heero could do that for you."

"Leave me out of this, Maxwell," Heero growled threateningly, glaring at the braided youth.

Wufei stood up impatiently. "Could we just continue with the meeting?"

"No," Duo said, sticking his tongue out at Wufei, "this is more fun." Catherine had entered into the room, carrying a plateful of fresh cookies. Her hair fell loosely in her face, and she was in casual clothes instead of her usual costume. She looked tired, with faint shadows beneath her eyes, but she still held a cheerful smile on her face. She carefully set them onto the cedar table, and set Duo's teacup onto the coaster and wiped of the ring it left.

"Well what about you, Duo?" Quatre responded, knowing full and well it was a pathetic attempt at a comeback.

Duo shook his head violently, his braid nearly snapping Wufei in the face. Wufei's first instinct was to retaliate with his katana, but instead he thought of how nice it would be to cut the braid right off, including Mr. Maxwell's head. He smiled to himself at the thought. "Hilde never orders me around; she's a real sweet girl." He sighed contentedly, leaning back onto the couch. "She does all my chores without asking whether I need the help; I haven't had to wash my own clothes in months. She's amazing."

Trowa tapped his foot impatiently. "Are we finished? Can we start the meeting already?" The others murmured in agreement.

At that moment, the telephone in the kitchen rang, and Catherine sprung up at the chance to leave the boys to their business. She took it off the receiver, cradling it gently beneath her chin. "Hello, Barton residence; how may I help you?"

A familiar voice greeted her on the other end, and Catherine smiled to herself; the first genuine smile that night. "Sure I'll help you, Hilde. What do you need done?" A pause, then she continued, "Meet at Dorothy's house? Sure. Midnight exactly?" she asked, peering at her wristwatch. "Yeah, I can make it; no. I don't need a ride. I'll see you then Hilde, its good to hear from you! Buh-bye," she finished, hanging the phone quietly up.

She grabbed her coat, and moved towards the door. "I'm going out Trowa, I'll won't be back tonight." She waited for a response, but, hearing none, left the house dejectedly. "Glad you'll miss me," she muttered to herself, pulling the collar of her coat up closely to her face, trying to block out the chilly wind.


	3. Sleepover!

Place: Dorothy's House

Time: 11:59 pm

Status: pillows, cookies, bathrobes, pencils and paper

Mood: the girls are filled with: A) air headed-ness; B) blonde-ness (not to offend anyone); C) non-logical-ness; or D) all of the above

The answer: you FAIL!

~*~*~*~

"So girls; lets go over the checklist again," Relena said, jumping on the queen-sized mattress set up in Dorothy's large living room. She held in her hand a pad of paper covered in quick jot notes. She held a pencil poised to jot more notes. "Pillows."

"Check," said Hilde, throwing one at Catherine, managing to hit her in the head. Catherine glared, then threw it right back.

Relena continued, "PJ's and bathrobes."

Dorothy looked down at her outfit. "I seemed to be dressed, so I guess 'check'".

"Sally Po on Vid. Phone."

"Roger that," Sally responded in a slightly tinny voice, her likeness splayed across the large screen on the side of the room. "Sorry I couldn't be there in person, girls, but flying halfway around the world for a slumber party doesn't quite make sense to my boss."

"Men," Catherine said bitterly, finally sitting on the pillow that she and Hilde nearly started a war with. "What the hell do they know?"

"Slumber parties are a legitimate excuse for leave of absence from work," Hilde agreed, saying so in a very serious tone.

"Exactly!" Sally Po said.

Dorothy and Relena looked at each other, then looked at the remaining girls confusedly. "What world are you from, girls?" Dorothy asked, hoping they wouldn't answer.

They did.

"I come from a world ruled by carrots."

"Mine's by purple crayons."

"Bow down to the spaghetti overlords! Fear thy meatballs' wrath!"

"SHUT UP!" Relena shouted. "I DON'T GIVE A CRAP ABOUT THE FREAKING MEATBALLS!"

Seeing Relena so out of character could only cause the girls to laugh even more. Dorothy, sputtering through giggles, tried to keep a serious tone and said, "You're all idiots. Shut the hell up, all of you." Seeing they were ignoring her, she added, losing her giggly mood, her voice sounding as if it were from the deepest pit in Hades, "RIGHT FREAKING NOW!"

Silence followed. Catherine and Hilde looked at each other nervously. A cricket chirped. A plane flew from somewhere to somewhere else.

"Now," she said, resuming her normal composure, "Let's get back to revenging. Who should we start with first?"

"How about Duo?" suggested Sally. "From the sounds of it, he's got quite some control over you, Hilde."

Hilde sighed, pulling the pillow out from beneath Catherine, sending her reeling to the ground. She held the pillow tightly to her chest. "He's – don't get me wrong, Duo is very nice – but –"

"He's controlling," suggested Catherine, rubbing her throbbing head.

Hilde simply nodded. "When the RMSTC first started out, I asked if there could be a women's section, where we could compete against each other. Duo said there likely wouldn't be enough girls interested in fighting to start it, but he would look into it." Hilde suddenly looked very tired and depressed. "But he never did," she added in a low voice. "I wanted to compete, but I'll never be able to now."

Hilde remembered the feeling of hope she had when she heard the RMSTC had been accepted. Duo had come home and immediately told her it had been approved, and he was so happy that they went for a walk downtown, and then to dinner in a formal restaurant. She grimly smiled at the memory, knowing that only a few hours later Duo had dashed her dreams of a female division in the RMSTC.

"Well," Catherine said, straightening herself off the ground, "You should have heard the boys at their little meeting today."

"You were at one of them?" Sally asked, suddenly interested.

"I'm at _all_ of them. Who else would the guys have to make their tea and cookies?"

"Ooooh, Catherine, you could be our spy! So, what's the scoop, Cath? Are they going to look into a female division?" Dorothy asked, glancing at Hilde from the corner of her eye. Hilde simply rolled her eyes; she already knew the answer.

Catherine said menacingly, "It never came up. Not once."

"Argh! Damn them!" Relena spat out, pulling a dramatic move by flopping motionlessly onto the mattress. After a few seconds she whipped her head up, her cheeks flushed red. "Why can't they just set up the division? It's not like its _that_ difficult. 'Girls can compete,' – POOF! – It's done!"

"Why are you so passionate on the subject, Relena?" Sally asked. She had never seen Relena show _any_ strong emotion towards anything besides peace.

Relena's eyes flashed darkly (a/n: is that even possible? Hmm…^ ~ ^), "Because, its is _only_ the discrimination of women's rights here! We can do anything men can do, and _better_ than they could." She suddenly turned on Hilde. "I know how you can get a little revenge on Duo."

Hilde suddenly caught on to what she was hinting, and smiled widely. "I think I know where you're going with this!"

"Compete in the RMSTC, with or without consent from Duo!" Dorothy said, letting a small cry of joy. "Oh, he'll really flip when he sees you in the battlefield!"

"That could really work, too. Not only will Duo be absolutely _furious_, but you'll be doing something you love, Hilde." Catherine added, sneaking the pillow away from Hilde, which had been cast to one side.

Hilde could only smile. To be able to compete in the RMSTC! It was like a dream come true. Why hadn't she thought of it before? It was so simple, yet it never came across her mind. _I guess Duo is starting to take over my life_, she thought. 

"Hilde? What do you say to this?" Sally asked, tapped the screen from her side of the camera.

"I'll do it! It'll be a blast!"

Cheers broke out all around. A feeling of togetherness spread over them, and for the first time each and every girl thought they could actually get their revenge. Finally, it wasn't a sad day in the universe.

~*~*~*~

Time: 2:38 a.m.

A few hours past, with a few arguments ("I'm looking for revenge that's more 'Ah-ha! Take that', not 'burning off his face', Dorothy!"), but mostly with agreement. They had decided that the best thing for Dorothy was simply to break up with Quatre.

"But he's _soo_ nice, Dorothy! How could you?" Hilde whined. She and Quatre had never really gotten to know each other, but from their few occasions together, she had found him rather charming. He had a way about himself that was very different from the other pilots; she couldn't put her finger on it…

"Really easily," Dorothy replied. "I'll give him the 'it's not you, it's me', coupled with a 'I'm sure lots of girls would love you more than I did', finishing with the four fatal words. ' Let's – just – be – friends.'"

"Deadly combination, Dorothy. Do you think he can take it?" Catherine asked.

"I hope so. I really don't want to hurt him that badly, but he's _got_ to know that we're through; there is no chance of us getting back together."

Relena tapped her pencil against her cheek, the end chewed off from several hours of pondering. "I guess that'll be enough to do it; unless you have some personal vendetta you want to even with him."

Dorothy shook her head. "I just want us over. No more, no less."

"All right, it's settled," Sally finalized. "Catherine, you'll be our undercover agent -"

"Ooooh, how exciting!" she replied.

"You'll get all the information you can on their meetings, and tell us how they're coping with our little shenanigans."

"I hope really poorly," Hilde added in, voicing the opinion all the girls had.

"Hilde," Sally continued, ignoring their interruptions, "You just have to compete in the RMSTC. Everything should fall into place for you from there. Dorothy; break up with Quatre." She paused for a moment. "I will stand by while you do all of this. Call me anytime you need help or advice. I'd love to help out more, but there's not much I can do from halfway around the world."

"It's all right, Sally, we understand."

"Now all that leaves is Relena," Sally finished, leaving the air open for discussion. The arguments had all taken place on what Relena should do for revenge on Heero. They didn't have a clue what would personally hurt him, and they were all out of ideas. The only thing Relena really had against him was that he ignored her. Not a lot you could do to get back at this.

Catherine sighed. "I'm all out of ideas, girls." She flopped onto her back, grabbing a nearby blanket and returned to an upright state.

"Me too; sorry, Relena," Hilde added.

"I the third," Sally said exasperatedly.

Relena looked at her slippers dejectedly. _Stupid happy bunnies_, she thought, looking at the cuddly, cotton face of the white rabbits on her slippers. _Why do you have to be so cheerful and I so miserable?_

A look of inspiration suddenly crossed Dorothy's face. Her mouth broke into a wide smile. "Let's call Noin! She's got to have some ideas!"

"Noin?" Relena asked, apparently confused. Suddenly she looked as if she clued in. "I completely forgot about her! Where would she be at," she said, looking at her watch, "three in the morning?"

"Sleeping?" Catherine suggested, yawning deeply, wishing she could just curl up with the blanket she grabbed.

"No, no," Hilde said, snapping her fingers. "It's Friday – I mean Saturday, now – right? So she'll be down at the mobile suits battlefields."

"At three in the morning??"

Hilde nodded. "She always puts in late night training on weekends. She says it helps with her 'fighting combat fatigue'."

"Well, let's go get her, girls!" Dorothy exclaimed, looking around at the others.

"One problem right here, Dorothy," Sally interrupted, tapping on her camera's screen again. "I can't exactly get up and follow you guys."

"I'll stay and keep you company," Catherine added quickly. It was obvious she was not used to their late-night escapades. She looked as though she would pass out any second.

Relena nodded, understanding. "You stay then, we'll go and talk to her. Hopefully Noin'll still be there."

"Have fun girls! Don't return until you have some ideas!" Sally yelled, waving as the girls hurried out the room, still in their nightgowns. 

"'Don't return until you have some ideas'? Doesn't that mean they'll never return, Sally?" Catherine asked jokingly, stifling a yawn.

"Oh, be nice and go to sleep. You look like death microwaved for thirty seconds too long," Sally responded irritably, yawning herself before shutting off the Vid-cam.

~*~*~*~

And remember – read and review! ^_~


	4. Reflections

Place: Diamro Battle Field, NW

Time: 4:07 am

Status: Training completed

Mood: who knows how a battlefield feels? Only it. 

Note: _italicized speech is a flashback_

~*~*~*~

Lucrezia Noin slowed her mobile suit, coming to a complete stop in front of the destroyed mobile doll. Breathing heavily, she tiredly wiped her forehead dry. She drew in a deep, calming breath, and leaned back against the warm leather of her mobile suit's seat. Resting, her eyes closed, she recalled the day's earlier events, the reason why she had stayed out far later than usual to train.

"Milliardo, I give up everything to help you, but what do I get in return?" she asked herself quietly, rubbing her temple methodically. "All those years of trainings, and yet I let you get more recognition. I put you before I put myself, and you never gave me anything in return."

Milliardo Peacecraft, she recalled, had confronted her about the Registered Mobile Suits Tournament Competition. Although he was not directly involved with its' decision-making, he did have some influence over the opinions people had of the RMSTC. He was respected and admired by pilots and politicians alike, and it seems that several people were waiting for his opinion on whether or not female pilots should be able to compete.

"I'm not sure what to say, Noin. I would like to see female competitors, but there are so few lady pilots," Milliardo said. He seemed to be very uncomfortable speaking about the topic. Noin understood, seeing that there were so many male pilots against it.

"Several politicians have voiced their opinion that there is no need to spend so much money for an entire new division for only a handful of individuals. They believe the money could be put into better use with the male pilots."

_"But, Milliardo, everyone should have an equal chance; a pilots' gender should have no influence over this."_

_"I don't think the money is the only thing they have a problem with. Although no one will come out and say it, the pilots seem to have heard of several female pilots that are, by far, better fighters than they."_

_"They're scared they'll be humiliated by being beaten by a girl," Noin said bitterly. "How childish." Milliardo simply nodded. _

_"Lucrezia, please understand that what I say to the people is not necessarily my belief about the female pilots."_

_Noin looked at him, her brow furrowed. "You're going to tell them what they want to hear," she said slowly, looking at Milliardo in shock and disbelief._

_Once again, Milliardo could only nod. "I don't want to make any new enemies, Lucrezia. There are far to many people against it to stand up in defense of a female division. What could be gained from it?"_

_"Only the right to fight, that_ all _pilots deserve, whether they be male or female! Zechs," she said, Milliardo blinking as she said his alter-ego, "I can't stand by your decision if it is to allow them to discriminate against women!"_

_"I thought you would understand! You do not know the pressures that those people can place onto you!"_

_"You think I don't know about pressure?! Every time that I battle, I'm expected to go out there and be better, stronger, faster than my male equivalents! You have no idea what it is like to be a female pilot, for everyone to stare at you in disbelief as you step into a mobile suit and head out onto the battlefield!"_

_Milliardo had nothing to say to this. His looked at her with a mixture of pity and anger, his face set in a look that told her their discussion was over. "Well," he said coldly, putting his coat on and moving to the door, "I'm sorry to waste your time."_

"Zechs -" she began, but to no avail. He had already left.

"Why do men have to be so stubborn?" Noin asked herself aloud, opening her eyes again. The sight in front of her shocked her. Three figures had their faces pressed up to the opposite side of her vid screen.

"I'm not sure myself, but I believe it has something to do with the fact they can't ask for directions; something about 'admitting weakness'," Relena replied, her voice metallically distorted through the speaker. 

"You know," Hilde said, looking over to Relena, "I think you're right."

Noin let out a soft chuckle. "What the hell are you guys doing out here so late? Isn't it past your bedtime?"

Dorothy frowned, and proceeded to stick out her tongue at Noin. "We _would_ have been here at least forty-five minutes earlier, but _somebody_ had to go and train at a different-than-usual battlefield. We got lost four times."

"Fortunately we are capable of asking directions," Relena ended, causing a quiet snort from Hilde.

Noin shook her head, fighting back the desire to tell how glad she was to have some company. Training was all right, but it got terribly boring when there was only you and a mobile doll. "That still doesn't answer why you are hear. Did Milliardo send you?"

Relena frowned for a moment. "Why would my brother send us here?"

"Never mind," Noin responded, waving her hand impatiently, "just answer the question."

"We have decided to get some vengeance for the years of neglect that dear little Ree-Ree ("stuff it, Dorothy!") has had to put up from a certain Mr. Yuy," Dorothy responded, knocking on the glass screen. "Um… can Noin come out and play? It's okay for you in there because you can see us, but we can't see you!"

"All right, all right, just give me a minute," Noin responded, and proceeded to unhitch her safety belt and unlock the entryway of her suit. It opened with a slow hiss, and she was immediately greeted by the trio of girls pulling her down to the ground.

" _Pleeeze_," Relena begged, falling to the ground and grabbing Noin around her knees. "Help me get back at Heero! I weally, weally huwt!"

For a moment it looked like Noin was confused, but then she remembered it was past four in the morning and she couldn't expect the girls to make a whole lot of sense. "Well," she began, carefully removing her legs from within Relena's death grip, "What do you want to do to him?"

Hilde responded, "That's the thing; we've run out of good ideas. The only one that came close was Dorothy's suggestion of throwing acid in his face."

"Well he wouldn't be able to look at other girls then, would he?" Dorothy retorted, defending her idea.

"But then he couldn't look at _meeeee_!" Relena sobbed, losing all control of her emotions.

Noin thought for a moment. "Have you been drinking?"

"The other night, yes. Today, no."

"I see."

The girls stood (except for Relena, who was sobbing on the ground) together at the foot of Noins' mobile suit. They had suddenly come to realize how silly they looked, talking animatedly in their pajamas in the middle of a battlefield with a girl sobbing hysterically on the ground. "Um, why don't we head inside?" Hilde suggested, and they all seemed to agree. Pulling Relena to her feet ("Lemme go! Just leave me to die!") they made their way back to the barracks a few hundred yards away. 

~*~*~*~

"So you, Hilde, and Dorothy are all going to even the scores with Heero, Duo, Quatre?" Noin asked, setting down the porcelain teacup she was holding. "But you can't think of an idea to get back at Heero with." Relena nodded, chewing slowly on a buttermilk biscuit. They sat around a long picnic-like table inside the Diamro kitchen. Hilde, Relena and Noin talked quietly as Dorothy busied herself by searching for food.

"Have you ever thought of _not_ getting revenge on Heero?"

"What do you mean?" Hilde asked, looking at Noin confusedly.

Lifting her cup up once again, Lucrezia continued, "What I mean is, how about you stop focusing on how to make Heero suffer and look at how to stop yourself from suffering."

"Like I should focus on how to help myself, not revenge?" Relena asked quietly. Her eyes were still a bit pink and puffy from crying, but she no longer felt the desire to throw herself onto the ground and sob. "But I can't think of what I need…"

"Well, it seems to me that you want attention, so why don't you get it from someone besides Heero? Go out and get yourself a boyfriend, or a dog, or a baby or _something_!"

Relena didn't say anything; she just sat and pondered what to do. Slowly she began, "I guess I could get a boyfriend…"

"Not only that, you could get an entire makeover!" Dorothy added, bringing her a plateful of cookies and a glass of milk. "You could buy some new shoes, some new clothes, get your hair done; all that fun stuff you've never really stopped to do before." 

"What's wrong with my hair and clothes?" Relena asked, suddenly looked as if she would burst into tears at any moment.

"Nothing," she responded hurriedly, "I just thought a change would do you good. You've had the same wardrobe for the past 5 years! Live a little, buy some Gucci shoes."

Hilde added, "It might give you the self-esteem booster you need. A new look usually makes me feel better."

Relena nodded and smiled, grabbing one of the cookies Dorothy brought. "I was thinking of cutting my hair shorter. It's been long for way too long."

"That's the spirit! Tomorrow - well, today, actually – you girls should take Relena out on the town! It'll make you all feel better, more relaxed," Noin said. Glancing at her watch she added, "It's almost six in the morning girls; do you think we've talked enough?"

Yawning, Hilde nodded. "I was ready for bed three hours ago." Pushing their chairs out, they helped re-organize the kitchen until it looked as though they hadn't even been there. They switched off the lights and made their way to the door.

~*~*~*~

Chasing dragons with plastic swords   
Jack off Jimmy everybody wants more   
Scully and angel on the kitchen floor   
And I'm calling Buddy on the ouija board   
I've been thinking 'bout catching a train   
Leave my phone machine by the radar range   
Hello it's me, I'm not at home   
If you'd like to reach me, leave me alone   
  
A change would do you good   
A change would do you good

~*~*~*~

Read and review, and thank you reviewers and readers! I'm so glad to have some feedback!! : )


	5. Let the Tournament Begin

Place: New Daimro Battlefield, SE

Time: 3:28 p.m. 

Mood: Excitement, entertaining

Status: awaiting the commencement of a conference 

~*~*~*~

One month had past since the drunken decisions set forth in Madame Keeri's Karaoke Bar, but to Relena, Hilde, and Dorothy, the month had past so quickly. Late night training between Noin and Hilde had filled in a lot of the time, as Hilde wanted to make sure she was ready to compete (illegally, if necessary) in the RMSTC. If she was going to break the law, she was going to make sure she'd break it for a damn good reason. Duo curiously questioned her where she was all the time, but she responded 'out' and said no more. Duo wanted to question her further, but an angry glance from Hilde and no supper the next day taught him quickly not to.

Dorothy and Relena had spent days, essentially, in the malls surrounding Dorothy's house, shopping for clothes and boys. Dorothy still hadn't broken it off with Quatre, as they all agreed to set their plan in motion on a particular day. Although she would look with Relena for a decent boy, she did not _look_ at the boys ("I'm still with Quatre, technically, so I won't look. Damnit.") Not finding any worthwhile, it simply gave them another excuse to return to the mall the next day.

Catherine filled them in on any and all meetings the Gundam pilots had held during the month. The motion to create a female division had been crushed, but by such a close number of votes, that Hilde actually felt they could have done it, if only they had tried harder. The boys had rejoiced in their victory, but found it at a price. Catherine had snuck in a trace amount of chocolate super-lax into their cookies, so the girls found some joy in that.

Today was the day the Registered Mobile Suit Tournament Competition officially opened, at the conference being held outside on the new battlefield itself. A large crowd had gathered under the sunny, summery blue sky, donning shades and caps to protect their eyes from the glare. The press sat in chairs set up in front of the podium, which was situated on top of a plain platform. The five Gundam boys sat in chairs on either side of the podium, looking both nervous and excited. The president of the RMSTC stood behind the podium, tapping the microphone. A dull thud echoed through the speakers with each hit. 

Dorothy stood alone beside the platform in a light sundress, looking bored and indifferent. She already knew what he had to say, but thought she might as well hear how he was going to cover up this great injustice, not allowing women to compete. Hilde and Relena had not come with her; they said they would arrive after the conference had finished and competitions could begin.

"Ahem," the president began. Immediately the low murmur of the crowd hushed, and an eerie silence fell. "My name is Mr. Donnex. For those of you who do not know, I am the president of the Registered Mobile Suit Tournament Competition, aka RMSTC, and today we officially begin these competitions."

Dorothy let out a quiet scoff. "Wow. I really didn't know that."

"It is rather astounding that so much could be accomplished in so little time. To have this stadium built within a month, on budget, is truly a wonder to me. To have so many young people here, willing to compete, is an even greater accomplishment. It shows that we did not complete all this hard work and planning in vain. 

"The people responsible for setting the guidelines, rules of conduct, and even coming up with the idea of the RMSTC are those who are situated around me," Mr. Donnex continued, gesturing to the boys sitting at either side of him. "Without their time and knowledge of battle, we couldn't have begun such a large scale project in the first place. Thank you, boys."

A warm round of applause broke out from the crowd. Dorothy hissed and booed, knowing it was pointless. But it made her feel good, so she did anyways. _They didn't even mention excluding women_, she thought menacingly.

"Now, without further ado, let the competitions commence!"

~*~*~*~

The air inside the mobile suit hanger was practically crackling with excitement. Hundreds of pilots were moving about, chatting with each other or showing off their mobile suits. Heero, Duo and Quatre stood and waited for the remaining two pilots to finish explaining codes of conducts to the eager pilots. Wufei and Trowa each had a separate group to debrief.

"Well, I think that went over well," Duo said, not able to keep himself from smiling.

"Well? It went over fantastic! Did you see how large the crowd was?" Quatre exclaimed, contracting the excited feeling from everyone around him. The joy was so contagious.

"Some of the mobile suits here are pretty impressive," Heero said, neither amused nor agitated. "We just might have some worthy competition."

Duo waved his hand impatiently, scoffing at the idea. "We'll have no problem cleaning through these boys. They might have tough suits, but we've got the _skills_." Silence fell again, and the boys simply stood and watched as other pilots walked by. They couldn't leave just yet, in case someone needed some help or had some questions. They also had to tell of a slight twist in the competitions right before they began. As it was difficult to talk over the high level of noise in the hanger, Duo motioned to a tough looking mobile suit, but Heero simply shook his said, saying that it _still_ wouldn't be that tough of a competitor against Wing Zero. They spotted Hilde and Dorothy, who were looking at a formidable Taurus suit, and waved to them. Dorothy gestured for Quatre to come over to her, and immediately he did so. Duo laughed, making the whip-like action with his finger again.

Suddenly the boys were distracted from their fun; distracted by none other than a girl walking by. Duo's jaw dropped, and even Heero looked as though he was interested (in something, for once). She looked, for some reason, vaguely familiar to Heero, but he wasn't quite sure why. She wasn't overly tall, but had a slight build that was hid by her casual jeans and t-shirt. Her hair was long and a light blonde that curled away from her face, and her eyes seemed to sparkle as blue as the summer sky. Duo let out a wolf whistle as she past, but she glared at him and flipped him the bird ('gave him the finger'). A faint scent of lilacs followed her as she went.

"Relena," was all Heero said.

~*~*~*~

"Quatre, we need to talk."

"What about, Dorothy?"

Dorothy sighed, clapping her hands against her sides to stop her from reaching over to him. _I don't need to do anything over-dramatic; just get it over with_, she calmly told herself. Repeating the words she rehearsed in her head, she fought to keep her composure. She looked at his innocent face, his bright blue eyes, and, at the thought of what she was about to do, she was almost ready to break down and cry. "Quatre, it isn't you, it's me," she began clumsily. 

"What do you mean, Dorothy?" he asked, the faint smile on his face nearly fading.

_Stop smiling; you're making this harder._

"Dorothy?"

"I mean," she continued, her tongue slipping over the words. She involuntarily removed her hands from her sides and continued, "that we - there are other girls out there – better girls - for you; ones that'll love you more than I do."

"What?"

_Why can't you just catch on?! You are making this way too difficult!_

"I want us to just be friends, that's what!" she shouted, immediately wishing she hadn't. 

_Look away! Don't let him see you're hurt!_

She turned her head from his gaze, but it was too late. He had seen the tears welled up in her eyes, and she had seen the hurt expression erupt on his face, spreading like a dark cloud, blurring his usually bright, blue eyes. "I see," he responded, his normally warm, sweet voice etched cold and icy. It looked like he wanted to say something far different, but he simply continued, "But I would like to know why."

Suddenly Dorothy's eyes dried up, and she no longer felt like crying. _He allows them to discriminate against women, and then wonder why I'm upset?!_ But she knew that wasn't the real reason why she wanted to break up. She had to tell him why; she owed that much to him.

"You - you're too damn nice!" she half shouted, causing a few passersby to glance in their direction. Even Quatre looked surprised.

'Excuse me?"

Dorothy wanted to scream at him, but forced herself to keep her voice below an extreme level of volume. On the brink of hysteria, she madly continued, "Look, you are just not the kind of guy I'm looking for! I want one that'll do stuff to piss me off, and then I yell at him and we get back together better than ever! I want a guy that'll try to _use me and take _advantage _of me, someone that is going to lie to me just so he can get into my pants! Because _then_ I have a reason to be pissed off, but – you – you _never_ do anything like that; you're sweet, you're concerned about my feelings, and, and you always want my opinion and _I just can't _stand_ it anymore_!"_

Quatre moved as if he wanted to say something back, but couldn't find any words. It didn't matter to Dorothy; she turned on her heel and fled the room. All she wanted was to get out of there before she burst into tears.

 ~*~*~*~


	6. And who exactly do you think you are?

Place: Diamro Battlefield Hanger, SE

Time: 4:16 pm

Mood: Depends on who you are

Status: preparing for competition commencement

~*~*~*~

Standing near the exit from the hanger, beside a table cluttered with rulebooks and instruction manuals, Relena looked edgy and nervous, waiting for the battles to begin. She had driven over with Hilde over as soon as they could make it, taking some last-minute looks for what, hopefully, would become her future boyfriend. She needed one, _today_, and still hadn't found one. _This is _not_ good_, Relena thought, chewing nervously on her bottom lip. _I can't be here stag; how am I supposed to make Heero jealous without someone here with me?_ Hurriedly looking over the crowds for someone, _someone_, to fill the spot, but she only found Duo and Heero heading in her direction. 

_Oh no, I am _not _dealing with them right now_. 

Quickly leaving her place beside the table, she moved as stealthily as possible through the large crowd towards Hilde. Her heart pounding madly in her chest, she glanced hastily over her shoulder, trying to see if she had lost them. They were nowhere in sight, so she left go a sigh of relief. Hilde lifted her gaze from the mobile suit over to Relena. "What took you?"

Flipping her hair back from her face, Relena answered as casually as possible, "I was 'scoping for guys, sorry."

A crowd had gathered around where they were standing; perhaps because the mobile suit was painted a mixture of deep purple and blue. Whatever the reason, many people seemed interested in the owners of it. Situated near the front of the crowd, a girl their age casually stepped forward. She was dressed in a standard pilot uniform, her fiery red hair pulled loosely into a hair tie. She looked skeptically at Hilde and Relena, but proceed to ask, her voice holding a slight British accent, "Are either of you the pilot of this mobile suit?"

Standing up from inspecting the left foot of the suit, Hilde raised her hand. "I am."

"Are you planning to compete in today's battle? What is your name?"

"Yes, and its Hilde." 

A lower murmur passed through the crowd. The look of skepticism faded from the girls face, changing quickly into a wide, cheerful smile. "I'm damn glad _someone_ – girl-wise – beside me decided to show these guys that we aren't going to stay fricking underfoot while they carry out such a ridiculous crime against women!" She turned for support from some other women in the crowd, apparently friends of hers. They weren't dressed in uniform, but several of them carried small signs and flags saying 'Samantha all the way!'. They gave out warm cheers of  "kick their ass!" and "show those guys who is boss!", making the girl smile only wider, waving her hands wildly into the air, and taking a small bow.

"You entered _too_?" Hilde asked, breaking into a wide smile.

Samantha winked. "There was no way to keep me out of it. I went under 'Sam' on the online registration. Technically, that _is_ my name; only shorter."

Relena let out a small laugh. "Well, are you any good as a pilot?" she asked, intrigued.

"Damn right I am!" she said fiercely, pumping her fist into the air. She seemed to be completely energized, raring for her chance to compete. " I've beaten everyone from my home city, _including_ my brothers; all of them highly respected officers and lieutenants in the mobile suit armies," she said smugly, beaming from the sounds of awe coming from the crowd.

"Are you _the _Samantha Grey?" one boy asked, stepping forward from the crowd. Samantha nodded. Another murmur of excitement passed through the crowd.

Hilde looked to Relena. "It sounds like she is a pretty famous pilot; she must be good," she whispered.

"You'll beat her," Relena replied encouragingly.

"Well, well, well," a voice spoke from the crowd. A pilot around his twenties, like themselves, cleared a path through the moving bodies in front of him, who had suddenly become eerily quiet. He was moderately muscular with broad shoulders, standing tall with shaggy light brown hair that hung in his eyes. He faced Samantha, a devious, yet charming smile on his face. Samantha only glowered at him, looking rather enraged. Hilde looked from one face to the other; unable to decide which one was angrier to see the other. He spoke again, his voice holding a rich, playful tone. "Sammie, dear, what are _you_ doing here? Surely, you aren't going to compete today? You know it is against the rules."

"I've read through the rulebook, just as you have, Merrick, and it says nothing about women being forbidden from fighting. We weren't allowed to have our own division, that doesn't mean that we can't participate in battle with the boys," she retorted, a look of superiority etched onto her face. She turned suddenly away from him, ignoring him completely. "My dears," she spoke to Relena and Hilde, "this arrogant, stinking pile of-"

"Sammie –"

"- is none other than my dear friendMerrick, supposedly," she continued, making sarcastic quotation mark in the air, "'the _greatest _pilot in North America'. Just ask him, he'll tell you." Facing the girls, she added, looking dreadfully bored, "If you enjoy speaking to superior bastards, go ahead and talk to him. However, I cannot stand being around him to long; bad for my soul, it is. Good day girls, and good luck, Hilde." Waving as she walked away, she and her friends moved through the crowd, disappearing from sight.

Merrick clicked his tongue in distaste, watching as the fiery girl sauntered away. Returning his attention to the two girls, he said, his voice carrying a hint of a British accent as well, "I do hope that Samantha wasn't to vulgar to you. She does have a particular _tact_ with people she's never met that seems to startle them away." His skin was healthily tanned, and his green eyes seemed to almost sparkle with mischief, making him seem very desirable. A blonde woman near the trio began whispering and giggling to her friend beside her, their gaze completely focused on Merrick.

"No, she wasn't too bad… Is she always that…um…excited?" Hilde asked, trying to make polite conversation. Relena seemed to be too busy gazing at Merrick to participate. She had taken on a look not too different from the giggling girls nearby.

Frowning slightly, Merrick replied, "Yes, but only for the battle. She psyches herself up beyond reason." Stopping suddenly, looking at the girls in a curious fashion, he continued, "I don't believe I caught your names. How horrible of me to be so rude to two lovely ladies like yourselves." 

"I'm Hilde," she said, clasping her hand over Merricks' extended one, shaking it warmly.

Blushing profusely, Relena managed to stammer, "I – I'm – Relena," before her cheeks turned beet red.

Giving an extra warm, toothy grin, Merrick replied, "Lovely name; enchanted to meet you." Taking his hand as well in a handshake, she was surprised to find that he bent down and gave a gentle kiss onto the back of her hand. Relena could almost feel the warmth radiating from her face she was blushing so badly. 

"I'm…going to work on my suit some more," Hilde said slowly, deciding it was best to leave the two alone.

Releasing her hand, Merrick said, "Surely you must have a boyfriend prowling about, making sure no other man decides to take you away from him?" he raised his eyebrow, intrigued.

Shaking her head madly, she managed to murmur a 'no' before turning away in embarrassment. She glanced around Merrick, only to see that Heero and Duo had finally managed to track her down.

"Oh no."

~*~*~*~

"Are you _sure_ that is Relena, Heero?" Duo asked again.

"_Yes_, I'm sure," he said impatiently, moving through the crowd as smoothly as possible. They pushed their way through a thick row of people encircling a blue and purple Taurus.

"Who would butcher their mobile suit with _those_ colors?"

"Dunno."

Finally making their way to the front, Duo was surprised to find Hilde working on the purple and blue 'monster', polishing a few parts before replacing them back into the suit. "Hilde, what are you doing to this guys' mobile suit?" he said, gesturing to Merrick. Heero remained silent, looking suspiciously between Merrick and blushing Relena.

Setting down her wipe rag, Hilde responded, "Nothing. I'm just cleaning _my_ suit's parts. The left leg seems to move just a little slower than the right. I'm hoping its just some dirt buildup."

It took a moment for the comment to register in Duo's brain. "Wait a minute; where did _you_ get a mobile suit?"

"Lucrezia gave it to me. It's her old suit; she's replaced it, so she doesn't need this one anymore. Call it a present if you'd like, Duo."

"Why do you need a suit?"

"Because I'm competing today, duh!"

"But – but you can't!"

Hilde crossed her arms, deciding to copy what Samantha said earlier to Merrick. "The rulebook says we, women, couldn't have our own division; that doesn't mean we can't participate in the men's division. It just means that we don't have special rules to make the fight less dangerous, which is fine by me." Deciding she no longer wanted to continue the conversation, she stepped up onto her suit, making her way into the cockpit.

"Hilde, you –"

But what 'she –', she never found out. At that moment, they were interrupted by an announcement, being made by Wufei Chang, airing over the P.A.

"Attention, may I have the attention of all pilots participating in today's competition," Wufei's voice said, echoing through the suddenly quiet hanger. It seemed as though everyone ceased breathing, it was so quiet.

Continuing, Wufei said, "As there are more people participating in the RMSTC than previously expected, an unexpected change was made for the first half of the competitions." A low murmur broke out over the crowd, pilots whispering to each other, wondering what the change could be.

"Instead of having one-on-one battles in a t-formation competition, we have decided to have two-on-two battles for the first half. In this way, we may cut down the competitors in half the time originally planned. Please pick another pilot to be your partner; you will remain a teammate with this person until we reach the second half of the tournament. The first two suits rendered incapacitated will be removed from the competition. We hope that this will not be too large an inconvenience for any of those contending. Thank you," he finished, the P.A. suddenly going quiet. 

Erupting over the crowds was a pandemonium of excitement. Scrambling to find a partner, pilots were dashing through people, knocking each other over, just to find the strongest pilot to match up with. Hilde stood there silently, dazed by the news. 

How am I going to find a partner? I don't know any pilots here… 

Suddenly, as though struck with a bolt of brilliance, she snapped her fingers and said, "Samantha."

Duo looked impatiently at her from the ground, apparently waiting for her to come down in order to continue his rant. He did not feel like wasting his breath on her when she wouldn't listen to him while she was up there.

All of a sudden, Duo was shoved in the middle of his back towards the suit. Turning around, grumbling and murmuring threats of retaliation, Duo came to face the person. It was, of course, Samantha Grey.

"'Scuse me, darling, but I need to talk to the lady of this suit," Samantha said playfully, inwardly believing (quite correctly) that he must be the boyfriend of Hilde. He looked the controlling type, and was obviously dissatisfied with the fact Hilde was in the suit. Glancing to her side, she saw, to her distaste, Relena heavily engaged in her conversation with Merrick, completely oblivious to those around her, including the scowling (worse than usual, if possible) face of Heero. Clicking her tongue, Samantha continued by yelling, "HILDE! Get your butt down here! You're my partner and we're up for battle first thing!"

Jumping down, Hilde looked at Samantha in surprise. "I was just thinking of asking you to be my partner!" she said in an amazed tone, completely ignoring Duo, who could not get a word in edgewise.

"We must be psychic," she replied, grinning widely. "Come on! Get your suit ready; we're up in a few minutes."

Chatting quickly, Samantha assisted Hilde in replacing the left leg shield, now the inside had been cleaned. Hurrying off, Samantha said she needed to prepare her own suit, and would meet Hilde out on the field. 

Clamoring inside, Hilde rushed to turn on all the settings of her Taurus mobile suit. She had nearly forgotten about Duo, when suddenly she heard his familiar voice: 

"Hilde, I forbid you from battling in the RMSTC!!!"

Moving her suit, now fully powered, towards the hanger exit way, she replied, "I can do what I want, _Duo_; don't try to stop me! I'm a free person with my own free will, aren't I?!"

Duo had no response to that; his jaw simply moved up and down with out making a sound. Running beside the quickly moving suit, knowing he was losing this battle of words, he did the only thing possible in his situation: threaten her.

"Hilde, if you compete today, _we're through! I _will_ break up with you!!_"

Silence followed over the blue and purple Taurus' speaker. After a moment, Hilde's voice, though sounding thicker and cracklier, replied, "Fine. So be it." Duo stopped, looking at her in disbelief as she marched onto the battlefield.

~*~*~*~

I've got the feeling

There's no concealing

Just what it is that's on my mind:

I know that I'm losing you.

There's no pretending

There's a happy ending

This stories closing and there's nothing more

Can it be

I've lost you?

I've seen it happen

I know the pattern

The way true love disappears

Just when now, more than ever,

I need you

I need your love

I'm losing the love that I knew,

Losing the love that I knew.

I'm losing you.

No use in staying,

No use me saying

Or begging you to change;

I know that I've lost you

My heart is breaking,

The time is taking

Out of the way, I've seen it fade

Could it be

I'm losing my happiness?

I can't believe it;

I won't believe it;

I won't accept that your love is gone 

Just when, now more than ever,

I need you

I need your love

I'm losing the love that I knew,

Losing the love that I knew.

I'm losing you. 

~Lani,  "I'm losing you"

~*~*~*~

So… a cliffhanger! It didn't sound like that was what Hilde expected, did it? I mean, her plan never actually involved breaking up with Duo…

And sorry Validor, but I can't reveal what'll happen ; )

I want to give thanks to those of you that have been reviewing my story! Thank you so much tina, heather, DarkWolf, kellis, Anime_freak_4life, Validor, Black Hawk Down; and special thanks to kiki, ALL CAPS, Vanwaquessiel and Mama-sama! I wouldn't be still writing this if it wasn't for you! ^^;

Read and Review!


	7. Get it Together!

Note: I'm not putting the place, time, etc. on this chapter, since it takes place in the same area as the previous chapter. At least, the beginning occurs during the time when Duo and Heero finally catch up to Relena and Hilde. We only saw Duo and Hilde's side in the previous chapter; so this one will contain Relena and Heero (as well as Merrick's) conversation. After the second '~*~*~*~', they will be back to being at the same time. This was just to make it less confusing…hopefully…

~*~*~*~

Heero stood outside the conversation, looking between Merrick and Relena in wonder. 

_Who exactly is this guy? I think I've seen him before, but…_

"Heero, this is Merrick. Merrick, Heero," Relena said, finishing introductions. Merrick smiled warmly at Heero, a look of recognition dawning on his face. Heero responded with a short dip with his head, showing he didn't give a damn. He didn't feel like being the third wheel here.

Still, Heero felt that he _knew_ this guy, as if he had seen him in another battle some time ago. _Maybe I just heard from him by reputation_, he thought, but wasn't quite sure if that was correct. Watching as they talked, his face furrowed with deep thoughts, Heero tried to follow through his memories back to the place where he met Merrick. He tried to ignore how Relena was flirting, _flirting,_ so apparently with him.

_What has gotten into that girl? New clothes; new look; new attitude? What is she playing at?_

Shaking his head, driving the thoughts out of his mind, he tried to concentrate on the task at hand._ Oz…the colonies…Operation Meteor? _Suddenly it, metaphorically, 'clicked'_. Merrick had been one of the potential _Gundam_ pilots!_

Stepping back slightly out of shock, he felt the full weight of the memory at hand_. Merrick had been disqualified because he was too headstrong to be a Gundam pilot; he was too aggressive and wouldn't follow orders, even worse than the five of them who were _actually_ chosen._

Looking at Merrick again, he could hardly believe he was the same person. The Merrick of long ago was forceful, demanding; but here he seemed calm and polite._ Very different…_

"Come on, Heero," Relena said, tapping him slightly on the shoulders. 

Heero jumped back slightly at how close she was to him. Faintly blushing, he murmured an apology for dazing out during their conversation.

"Never mind that," she replied, smiling slightly at him, "Come and watch the battles with us! Hilde's going to be participating, plus you worked so hard on the RMSTC, don't you want to be there when it actually starts?" 

"Hilde is competing?" he quietly asked himself, but thought no more of it. If she wanted to, that was fine. Nodding in agreement, he followed Merrick and Relena as they walked out the hanger's exit, noticing that Relena had linked her arm through Merrick's.

This is going to be a long day… 

_~*~*~*~_

"Hurry up!" Samantha yelled, glancing into her suits' monitor, making sure Hilde was still following behind. She was, but only barely. Samantha was surprised to see the deadened look in Hilde's normally lively, hazel eyes. 

_It's as if she's lost the spark of life, just because she's no longer with Duo_.

Mentally furrowing her brow, she called back again to Hilde, this time with fierce determination etching her voice. "The past is past, Hilde; you stood by your rights and he broke up with you. He isn't worth crying for if he'd do something like that."

The voice that replied was thick and groggy, the voice only heard while pained tears fell. "I know- but - I – I never wanted that to happen. I love him, and –and he doesn't love me back." Silence proceeded on the communication line, and Samantha knew the raven-haired girl had given in and was crying again. An uncharacteristic feeling of compassion rose inside Samantha, and she almost wished she were beside the girl to comfort her, not in a separate mobile suit.

Before them, a large, steel door creaked open slowly, drawn up by motors on each side of them. The sunlight shining through was enough to momentarily blind Samantha, causing her to blink rapidly to remove the spots now showing in her eyes. Up ahead she saw their opponents; two Leo suits. Not too big of a threat. 

"Stay focused, Hilde," Samantha said, smiling, trying to show a bit of good humor, "Remember, if you lose in the first match, it'll all have been in vain."

On the monitor, she saw Hilde nodded slowly, a grim smile set on her face, the rim of her eyes soaked and red. "Of course. We'll win, don't worry," she added, wiping her cheeks off with the back of her sleeve.

They stepped out onto the field, a roar of raucous cheers bursting from the crowds. Moving quickly out to the centre, the girls saw several shocked faces; people amazed to see two female pilots out on the field. By the sidelines she saw Relena sitting between Merrick and Heero; neither showing any bewilderment in the fact two girls were going to fight_._

_At least some guys here aren't chauvinists._

The remaining seats at the sidelines were empty, and Hilde vaguely wondered where Dorothy and the others could be. Stopping across from her opponents, she drew in a deep, steadying breath. Appearing suddenly on her communication line was Lucrezia Noin, smiling at her from the monitor. "Remember what I taught you kid; you'll do fine," was all she said, disappearing as quickly as she appeared. Hilde smiled lightly, mentally thanking Noin for the confidence booster. She was still trembling emotionally, as if she were standing at the edge of a cliff; where if she lost her balance she would fall to the depths of her sorrow. 

_I can't let that happen, I_ can't_._

But she still couldn't help thinking about Duo; how they had went to movies every Friday at seven, whether or not a good show was playing. How, on their anniversary, Duo gave her the dainty gold necklace she was wearing around her neck. Unconsciously she clutched at the fine chain, choking back a sob. Now was not the time to break down; she would just have to hold back until after the battle.

_~*~*~*~_

Sitting down quickly, Relena smiled widely, breathing heavily from the high levels of cheering she had been doing. "This is so exciting! I almost wish I could be a pilot, just so I could join in on this too!"

Heero made a move, as if to speak, but Merrick interrupted. "Well, I for one would be glad to show you how to use a mobile suit, Relena," he said smoothly, not noticing that Heero was glaring slightly in his direction. "Perhaps we should get together one evening so I may show you," he added, clutching Relena's hand lightly.

Blushing obviously, Relena responded, "That would be great, Merrick! When should we meet?"  
  


"Why not tomorrow night, seven o'clock, right here? That is, if it is all right with the RMSTC that we may use the battlefield," he replied, glancing at Heero.

Heero nodded slightly, saying, "I don't see why not. A lot of pilots have been doing extra training here at nights."

"That's great, Heero! Thank you so much!" Relena replied happily, giving Heero a quick hug. It was amazing how the level of excitement in the air could affect someone so much. Normally she wouldn't have even thought of doing something like that.

Replacing her arm inside Merrick's grasp, she returned her gaze to the battlefield. Just as she was going to ask when the fight would commence, an announcement ran through the air again.

~*~*~*~

Checking for any last-minute adjustments, Hilde moved quickly, focusing solely on the settings in her suit. Appearing on her monitor was Wufei, again, giving the go-ahead for the fight to begin. A gunshot rang through the air, and immediately all four suits moved into battle.

"Be my backup, Hilde; I'll be offense, you be defense," Samantha said over the monitor, moving into position in front of Hilde. Locking her sight onto the upcoming Leo suits, she released a torrent of shots at the one on the left. 

Dodging as the second Leo veered at her, Hilde tried to turn her suit around in time to get some shots in at the suit. She didn't quite make it in time, though, and the second suit returned beside the first Leo. 

"Hilde, I need your help here!"

Realizing her back was open for shooting, not to mention leaving Samantha without backup, Hilde tried to return to her original position. Storming up the field, she placed herself at the back of Sam's suit, that way both could watch from each side.

"I'm gonna take Sparky here; the one with the lightning bolt in the middle of his Leo. You distract No. 2 so I can get some clear shots in on Sparky."

Hilde nodded, and was amazed at the speed Samantha's suit left her side. Apparently, 'Sparky' and 'No. 2' were surprised as well, and were left momentarily confused. Hilde saw her advantage and lunged at No.2, knocking him off his feet. From behind, Samantha blast at Sparky, tearing through the suit's right arm. Deftly moving, she struck with her left arm directly into Sparky's suits' head, knocking out all the suits inside monitors. Sparky was as good as gone.

"The suit belonging to Richard Prixton has been terminated. Suits Samantha Grey and Hilde Schdontexpectmetoknow (^^) on team one remain, and Donald Trout on team two," announced Wufei; a roaring of giant cheers erupting from the crowds. Hilde smiled to herself, for once forgetting about Duo. But it was short-lived.

"Hilde, look out!"

Suddenly realizing she had also forgotten about No. 2 ('Donald Trout'), Hilde was too late to stop his attack. Discharging several rounds of shots at her, Hilde felt an overwhelming wave of defeat beating towards her.

_I failed_…

_~*~*~*~_

"Oh my Gosh, this is so exciting! I wish Dorothy was here to see this!" Relena exclaimed, screaming wildly as the remaining suits battled. "Which one is Hilde?"

"She's the one getting shot," Heero responded shortly.

"Is she winning?"

"Take a wild guess."

~*~*~*~

Hilde released a scream of shock as she saw No. 2 lunge at her.

_If he lands this hit, I'm through_!

Closing her eyes to avoid seeing her defeat, Hilde reflected again on her fight with Duo, still weighing heavily on her mind.

_I'd be able to concentrate if I didn't have to think of this too! Now I'm gonna lose _and_ be without Duo. I hate myself_!

Realizing the moment of her defeat had come to pass, only without her defeat, Hilde opened her eyes, releasing a small gasp of amazement_. Samantha had taken the brunt of the attack!_

"Hilde," Samantha said, straining to keep her suit standing, "I won't be able to finish this guy. Hurry and get rid of him while he's not moving!"

She saw that, indeed, No. 2 was almost paralyzed, Samantha's suit trying desperately to keep him from firing again. Moving deftly, Hilde returned in front of the two suits, aiming her cannon at No. 2.

Her skill not lying in quick-witted comments, Hilde settled with a clichéd, "Take this!" and proceeded to fire several rounds at No. 2, rendering him incapacitated.

If she thought the cheers earlier were loud, they were nothing compared to the ones being released now. Adrenaline flowing through her, Hilde released a loud, wild cheer as well, climbing out of her suit into the fresh air. Wiping sweat of her brow, she watched as Samantha's suit finally gave in and fell over. The red head scrambled out of her suit, rushing over to Hilde and sweeping her into a bear hug. Tears of joy running down her face, yelling over the crowd, Samantha shouted, "We won we won! Oh god, don't_ ever_ freeze in a battle like that_ ever again! _If you were Merrick, I'd have left you for dead!"

"Why did you defend me?!"

"A girl has to win the full competition; this just betters our odds!"

Laughing and half-carrying each other off the field, Hilde wished the feeling she had right now could carry on forever. Only after the exhilaration evaporated away would she recall what she was so upset about in the first place.

~*~*~*~

Next time: back to Madame Keeri's Karaoke Bar!

I hope Samantha and Merrick aren't turning out to sound like Mary Sue's and male-version-of-Mary Sue (I can't remember ^^). If they are, tell me where to improve please. 

Thank you reviewers, and readers who don't review! I'm glad you are reading and enjoying this story 


	8. A Toast to Dee Keeri: May We Leave Reali...

Place: Madame Keeri's Karaoke Bar

Time: 10:17 pm

Status: Intoxicated

~*~*~*~

The dull lights of Madame Keeri's Karaoke had never been so inviting as they were tonight. When reality just became too "real", it was necessary to unwind and forget it, even for a short while. The inhabitants of Madame Keeri's were no exception; reality is a nice place, but they don't want to stay there for too long. Standing on the oaken stage was a drunken man, singing (rather off-beat) "Real World". Coincidence? I think not.

Taking their usual places at the mahogany wood bar, careful not to tip over in their barstools, two girls returned from the rather urgent bathroom meeting. Tequilas never have wanted to stay down too long, and the porcelain god was demanding tribute, refusing to take no for an answer.

Against their own brand of logic (one that doesn't resemble Earth logic), they asked for their ninth round of drinks, demanding they receive them before the porcelain god beckoned for them again. Madame Keeri didn't want them puking all over her bathroom, but she also did not want them to start wailing mournfully again. The drinks were given immediately, and were drunk almost as quickly. The girls were pleased.

Stepping inside the old wooden door, a familiar blonde girl entered, shaking her coat and umbrella free of rain from outside. Her hair was damp and stuck slightly to her face, giving her a slightly psychotic look. She pulled off her wet coat, looking at it with disgust as she hung it up on the hanger by the door. Much like a cat, she didn't like being wet. Much unlike a cat, her coat smelled like wet dog. She was a strange girl indeed.

Briskly walking between the tables filled with customers and empty chairs, she marched up and took her place between the two violently drunk/ill girls. Ordering a shot of whisky, she turned to her companions, smiling widely. Seeing her so cheerful almost made the girls want to punch her face until it was no longer distinguishable.

"So how was your night, girls?" she asked innocently, looking from one drunken girl to the next. Receiving only Death Glare™ from both of them, she continued with her own story. "Well, Merrick first took me out to dinner in that fancy restaurant downtown –"

At the mention of the restaurant, the raven-hair girl proceeded to burst into unmanageable tears, sobbing something along the lines of "Our restaurant!"

"- And then we went to see a movie, the new one. Then, he took me for a walk in the park, and when he was going to teach me how to pilot a mobile suit, it started raining. He kissed me goodnight and dropped me off here, like we agreed to meet, and then I told you my story," she finished, completely ignoring the sobbing girl to her left and indifferent girl to her right. The indifferent girl looked as though she had fallen into a coma, her eyes unblinking, her body unmoving. Comatose was likely, considering the amount of alcohol consumed and the boring story combined.

Moving her head, slurring slightly (that is an understatement; she was slurring a damn large amount), the girl to the right began to say, "I-I can't believe I broke up with him," but couldn't finish because she burst into tears as well, her head falling once again to the counter.

This left the wet-dog-smelling girl very confused. She looked from one sobbing girl to the other, unsure what to do next. Deciding quickly, she took her whisky shot and down it in one gulp. It burned and shocked her senses, which dulled her thinking. She concluded it was a good decision, and ordered another whisky shot, only without the glass and directly from the bottle. Another good decision; she was getting smarter after all.

"So," she said, trying to talk, but finding her tongue was slightly paralyzed, "How are you girls doing?"

Immediately ceasing from sobbing, the raven-haired girl removed her head from the mahogany bar and glared menacingly at the blonde. Through gritted teeth, she uttered darkly, "I just lost my boyfriend of four _frickin_ years!! How do you _think_ I'm doing?"

Pausing for a moment, the blonde responded, "Um...not good?"

"_Give the girl a prize_!"

The blonde's happy demeanor flickered for a moment. She knew Hilde was an angry drunk, but didn't appreciate being treated like an idiot (although she was and everyone knew it). Carefully turning away, looking at the other girl, she asked gingerly, "How are you, Dorothy?"

Also removing her head from the bar, Dorothy responded slowly, her voice thick from crying, "Tore out his heart, I did. Then I took it, and threw it, and stepped all over it until it was a little smear on the _floooor_!" She ceased her agonizing yell, but shortly burst into tears once again.

Now Relena was greatly afraid for her own life. It was dangerous to be stuck between two anti-sober girls who just broke up and were on the verge of killing someone. Trying to find a way to lighten the mood, she asked, completely out of the blue, "Hey, would a dyslexic sheep say 'Aaab, Aaabb'?"

Looking at her as if she were from another planet, Hilde lowered her glass of beer from her mouth. "How the hell do you come up with that weird shit?"

Dorothy paused for a moment, contemplating a response. "I think it would. Or, it would say 'Aba'," she said, wiping her eyes on her sleeves, "Abba, Fernando. _There was something in the air that night, the stars were bright, Fernando! They were shining there for you and me, for liberty, Fernandohh"_

Now looking at Dorothy as if _she _were from another planet, Hilde decided it was best to stop her from singing before she reached '_If I had to do the same again, I would, my friend, Fernando' _and burst into tears, again. She stopped her by throwing her beer at Dorothy.

After receiving the full container of alcohol in her face, Dorothy felt she had hit rock bottom. She may also have felt this because she fell to the ground in a pathetic attempt to dodge the beer. Pulling herself into a sitting position, she said, "Quatre was perfect, and then I stabbed him in the heart! I'm so horrible!"

"Yeah, I mean no, no – yeah…no. I don't know," Relena, replied, unable to decide the best response. Quickly finishing the bottle, she turned to the other girls. "You're both being wussies. ' Go get someone else', isn't that what you told me? I didn't want anyone else besides Heero, but you didn't care! 'Its simple, he'll never love you, go find some guy that'll take an ugly bitch like you'!"

"We never said that."

"You implied it. Never mind, I forgot that Merrick is completely hot!"

"Rub that in our faces, why don't you?"

"Okay, nyah nyah he's hot and I got him! Nyaaaah!"

"Bitch."

"I know. I feel so good!"

"Idiot."

"I know. So does everyone else."

"Whore."

"I AM NOT!!"

And thus, a fight broke out that no one in their right mind would want to see. Although I am not sure we are all in our right minds, let's pretend we are and move on.

~*~*~*~

Meanwhile, in a bar not too far from Madame Keeri's...

~*~*~*~

An unfamiliar sight lay inside an unfamiliar bar, a bar named the "Tight End". A sports bar, but it sounded like something else... Anyway, inside the bar were three men sitting at the cedar counter, sipping from their beer cans. However, unlike the three girls, their capability of holding in alcohol was much higher and hadn't paid homage to the porcelain god yet.

Not one of the boys seemed to be in the mood to talk, simply the mood to drink. They gazed miserably at their beer cans, wondering how soon they may crush them against their heads. One boy sat with a look of indifference on his face, trying to decide why he had come here in the first place. Finally, one of them broke the silence.

"Would a dyslexic sheep say 'Aaab, Aaabb'?"

"How the hell do you come up with that weird shit, Duo?"

"Never mind, Quatre; I was just trying to start a conversation."

Silence followed for a moment, until finally the blonde youth began, taking a sip from his beer, "Why did you break up with Hilde? You completely broke her heart."

Duo responded, "I did?"

Looking at him, amazed by his thick-headedness, Quatre replied, "Yes! She was in tears during her battle today; how could you not notice?"

Not sure how to respond, Duo said, "She…she didn't care what I had to say about her fighting in the RMSTC. She didn't sound like she really cared when we broke up. Anyway, she could get hurt, just like she almost was hurt today."

"Bullshit."

Quatre and Duo looked surprised at Heero, who was no longer focusing his attention on how much he didn't want to be here. Continuing, Heero said, "She _was _hurting badly after your break up. And just because she never asked you to compete, you got pissed off and threatened her. You pushed her and, this time, she pushed back."

Looking uncomfortable, Duo scratched lightly at his head. "Maybe…but she still could've gotten really hurt today. I'm going to ask her to leave again tomorrow. I love her, and I don't want her hurt."

"You're a moron, Duo."

"Excuse me, Quatre?"

"I said you're a moron," he repeated, setting his beer can onto a coaster. "Duo, Hilde is practically the nicest girl we know. She did everything for you: cook, clean, your laundry, and still that wasn't enough. Now she's gone and you're all alone. Face it, you're gonna die on your own."

"I will not! I can take care of myself!"

Laughter broke out between the remaining two boys. This caused Duo to get even angrier, throwing a coaster at each of them. "Shut up, its not that funny." Changing his mood quickly, Duo said, "Quatre, you're single now right? How the hell did you get rid of the pointy-eyebrow Devil?"

"What did I tell you about calling her the Devil?"

"Its…offensive to the Devil?"

Shaking his head, Quatre responded, "She broke up with me, for no reason. Apparently, she's not into guys who are 'nice, caring and sweet'. Bitch."

"That's because _she's the Devil!_ She _would_ be into molesters and rapists, people like that."

"Enough Duo," Heero said warningly.

Muttering an apology, Duo bowed his head down ashamedly, quietly saying, "Didn't mean to hurt your feelings, Satan."

 Continuing, Quatre said, "I guess it's for the best though, right?" Sighing, he added, "but I'll miss her. I loved the way she decided what she wanted, and - just – _went _out there and did it. No questions."

"You love a short leash."

"I guess…"

Snickering, Duo added, "You were her bitch."

"Shut up! I was not!"

And, for the second time tonight, a completely pointless fight broke out. Perhaps the first has come to its pointless conclusion…

~*~*~*~ 

Back to where we were earlier…

~*~*~*~

No longer at the mahogany bar, Relena, Dorothy and Hilde were situated around a circular table near the back of the bar. Glaring darkly at each other, under the watchful eye of Madame Keeri, they awaited the arrival of Lucrezia Noin; their designated driver for this evening (A/N: always drink responsibly! Have a dd! : D).

Hilde looked as though she wanted to finish the fight they begun, rubbing her sore jaw attentively. Relena may not look it, but she packed a wicked right hook. Hilde's lip was slightly split, dried blood covering the crack, and her jaw a bit puffy and enlarged. Relena herself had a large bruise forming on her head (where Hilde had grabbed her and bashed her head into the bar) above her right eye. Dorothy had no bruises; she stayed at the bar, sobbing about how miserable she was as the others fought.

Breaking the ominous silence, Hilde said, "Let's play a game." Smiling evilly, she continued slowly, her voice childish, "I spy, with my little eye, something that starts with 'B'."

Playing along, Madame Keeri asked tiredly, "Bar?" Hilde shook her head.

Dorothy asked, "Beer?" negative.

"Booze?" nope.

"Boys?" Another negative.

Pointing slowly towards Relena, Hilde said darkly, "Bitch."

"Why you –"

"Girls! Stop it right now before I have to resort to drastic measures!" Madame Keeri said menacingly, stepping between the girls before they could begin anything. 

Sitting back down, the girls shook their heads haughtily, refusing to look at each other. Sighing tiredly, Madame Keeri rubbed her temples slightly, praying silently that Noin would arrive soon. She did.

The front door opened moments later, revealing Lucrezia in a sodden raincoat. "Am I too late?" she asked, moving quickly into the bar. "Have they killed each other yet?"

"Almost. Thank you for coming, Lu. I don't think I could have held them off any longer."

"I don't think I would want to be around them like this either, Dee, but only for you..." Noin replied, shaking her hair as dry as possible. Looking between Relena and Hilde, she muttered, "creepy", and continued to sit at the table with them. The three remained silent, staring at each other with the utmost level of hate. Clearing her throat, Noin began innocently, "How has your plans been going? Have you gotten your revenge yet?"

The effect of this simple question was cataclysmic. Dorothy began sobbing at full strength, wailing and pounding her fist on the table. Relena, knowing already how "happy" the other two were, did the smartest move of her life and ducked underneath the table. Hilde let out an angry cry, standing up, looking as if she would rip Lucrezia's throat out. She indeed was an angry drunk.

Lucrezia let out a cry of surprise and jumped back from the table. Madame Dee Keeri rushed to the girls, giving each a bottle of beer. Almost instantly, everything returned to normal. Relena came out from under the table, Dorothy stopped crying, and Hilde returned to her normal drunken composure. Noin looked at her friend in disbelief. Sighing, Dee Keeri responded, "I've had a lot of experience learning how to calm down drunks. Like a baby, give them a bottle and they shut up."

Slowly, and rather unwillingly, Lucrezia returned to the table, watching closely at the other girls. Trying to start over the conversation, she had decided Relena to be the most sober, and asked if she would like to move to another table. Looking at evil Hilde one last time, Relena hurriedly agreed.

"So, can you tell me what happened to these girls to make them act like this?" Noin asked carefully, making certain they did not overhear. 

Sighing, Relena went into the entire story; Duo breaking up with Hilde, Dorothy regretting her breakup with Quatre, Samantha competing, and her new boyfriend, Merrick. Finishing the narrative, Relena took a small sip from the beer bottle Dee had given her.

"Wow," Noin said simply, nodding slowly, "You girls can do some damage in one day."  
  


"Tell me about it. To add to it, both of them are mad at me because I have a boyfriend and they don't," Relena said emotionally, her eyes tearing up for the first time tonight. "I mean, Dorothy and Hilde have had steady boyfriends for the last four years, where as I've been all alone. I finally have someone, and they're completely pissed! They should be supportive, not bitchy to me."

"What about Heero?"

"What about him? He doesn't give a damn about me being with Merrick."

~*~*~*~

At the same time…

~*~*~*~ 

"Why the hell is she going out with that man-whore, Merrick?" Heero asked slurredly, pounding his fist on the bar top. "Duo, do you remember Merrick? He was in Operation Meteor, right?"

Thinking for a moment, Duo nodded his head drunkenly, "Yeah I do. He's the one who tried to shoot at Dr. J, right?" Taking on an awed tone, he added, "Aww man, he was so cool!"

"He did? I thought he tried to steal a gundam before it was completed…" Quatre asked, his eyes remaining closed. He was tired, and didn't feel like seeing himself completely drunk.

"Maybe…he might've done both. Those were some good times!" Duo replied, smiling widely and stupidly.

 "Guys, guys. Back on the subject. Why would Relena go out with him? He's like a total bastard, and she's a prissy chick."

"Who cares? From the sounds of it, it's a match made in hell. They can have each other."

"I'm just saying that he's not the kind of guy to be careful with a chick. And Relena's the type of girl to put up with _anything_. Just look at her; she followed me around the freaking world! And I wouldn't even say a word to her!"

Duo looked curiously at Heero. "Why do you care, Heero?" Grinning slightly, he continued, his voice purring teasedly, "Do you love her?" 

Blushing slightly, Heero responded, "Of course not, I'm just worried about what Merrick might do to her. Just common concern."

"Mm-hmm, right," Duo responded, not meaning a word. He looked at Quatre, who had fallen asleep at the bar. "I think we'd better head home; Lightweight here seems to have taken all he could," he said, gesturing at the dosing blonde. Heero nodded in agreement, pushing his empty glass toward the bartender and helping Duo carry Quatre to the door.

~*~*~*~

"Noin, what happened to your cheek?" Relena asked, looking curiously at Lucrezia's side of her face. 

Covering her cheek with her hand, she responded quickly, "Nothing. Why?"

"It looks kind of bruised and sore. Did you pick a fight with Hilde? Man, she can pack a powerful punch. I think one of my molars came loose in our fight."

"No, I didn't, I -" she said, searching for a response, "I just fell stepping out of the bath tub. That's all." _Idiot! That was so stupid!_

"Okay…" Relena said, looking as though she didn't believe her. Lucrezia's cheek was covered haphazardly in makeup, an unusual touchup job. "What really happened?"

"Nothing!"

Gasping inwardly, suddenly understanding, Relena said, "Did my brother hit you?!" Seeing Lucrezia's expression, she continued, "He did, didn't he?! I'll kill him for you!" She stood up, stumbling slightly. 

"Just listen to me, please. I'm begging you," Noin said pleadingly, pulling Relena back to the table.

Grumbling, Relena said, "Fine. I'll kill him after. Continue."

~*~*~*~

A cliffhanger? Why would Milliardo do such a thing? Is Merrick as bad as Heero seems to think? Does Duo really think Dorothy is the Devil? And what about Heero's concern for Relena… next time, I suppose. This was a long chapter!

Thank you, wonderful reviewers; I love receiving your responses to my story! There is nothing greater than seeing someone reading my story. I'm glad to see everyone so far seems to be enjoying it; I hope it's all right for my first, true fanfic. 

Until next time,

Kiwii =)


	9. I Don't Need Anymore

A/N: 31 reviews?!? Seeing so much feedback on my story is wonderful! I can't express how great I feel to see that so many people have been reading and enjoying my story. Thank you all so very much!

This chapter is fairly angst-y, seeing how it is about Milliardo and Lucrezia. The mood re-lightens itself in the next chapter. I dedicate this chapter to Muse, one member of my duo of muses. She deserves congratulations; this was likely her best work *Muse purrs*. Maybe I should stop ordering hell.cad to annihilate her…Nah… (J/k Muse, I only loathe you)

Anyhow…

~*~*~*~

Time: earlier that night…

Place: A park in the city

Italics = thoughts 

~*~*~*~

The sky above was grey and dull, giving off waves of lethargy to anyone who dared gaze at it too long. Lucrezia Noin sat alone on the park bench, watching as pedestrians hurried through the softly falling rain. She held her umbrella above her head, listening to the rain patter against it, careful to keep it just high enough so that she could the people walking around her. She was looking for someone in particular. She sighed, glancing at her wristwatch for the third time in a minute. _He should be here by now_…

As if on cue, the man in question arrived, tapping her gently on her shoulder. "Missed me? I would have been here sooner, but Midii held me up. She wanted to go over a couple of files in the Preventers office." Milliardo Peacecraft moved around the bench and sat beside her, careful not to sit in the large puddle forming on the seat.

"Really, Milliardo? Are you sure she wasn't just looking for an excuse to be alone with you?" Lucrezia asked playfully, giving Milliardo a small kiss on the cheek.

"Funny, Lu. I didn't know you had a sense of humor." 

They sat in silence, listening to the rainfall, watching the people as they scurried on in their lives. Lucrezia moved in closer to Milliardo, resting her head on his shoulder. "I've missed you," she said, sighing contentedly, as if caught up in a soothing dream. Her voice held the genuine note of yearning in it, and she continued, "We've hardly seen each other at all since work at the Preventers office picked up. Do they really believe someone is plotting against the peace we've kept for four years?" She closed her eyes, momentarily giving in to the exhaustion that has been creeping up on her for the past month. Late-night training with Hilde was beginning to take its toll on her, and the extra work at the office wasn't helping. The grey sky and relaxing sound of light rain was almost enough to carry her off to sleep, held in Milliardo's arms.

"We aren't exactly sure, but Midii seems to believe that someone is organizing a revolt of some kind. She said there have been more and more former pilots disappearing in the past few months," he replied slowly, carrying the same note of exhaustion in his voice as Noin. "Midii thinks someone may be collecting the best mobile suit pilots together into one force; if this person, whoever they may be, has this large force of pilots, they may have the ability to stir up a lot of chaos for us Preventers. They wouldn't have enough strength to overthrow the world, but Midii believes we shouldn't underestimate them."

"Well, we shouldn't. Just look at Mariemaia; no one would have believed she nearly overthrew the world."

"It was Dekim in control, not Mariemaia."

"You're missing the point."

"Sorry. But I know what you mean." Milliardo tilted Lucrezia's upward, and she slowly opened her eyes. "So much for a date. We're both ready to fall asleep."

She laughed lightly, repositioning her umbrella. She had almost forgotten she was holding it, and rain descended on her head where the umbrella no longer was. "Come on, you promised me a night on the town, and I make sure you keep your promises. You need to start making up for all the nights you've left me alone."

Pulling him to his feet, Lucrezia and Milliardo set off across the park, Milliardo taking the umbrella from her and holding it above their heads. By now most of the park was empty of people, so they had privacy alone together. It felt as though the entire square belonged to them, at least for a short while.

But Lucrezia seemed to sense that there was more Milliardo wanted to speak about. It was if he was holding something back, waiting to bring it up at the right moment. "Is something wrong, love?" she asked him, lifting her head to meet his eyes.

He shied from her gaze, but answered, "Actually, yes." He shifted uncomfortably, unsure of how to begin. "I wanted to ask you about why you are training Hilde."

Lucrezia looked at him in surprise. "How did you know I was teaching her to pilot her suit?"

"Relena is my sister, remember? I overheard her speaking on the phone last night. She mentioned that you were helping Hilde." Milliardo paused for a moment, then continued, "Why, Lu? Don't you realize how dangerous the RMSTC really is?"

"They have plenty of safety regulations," she replied, frowning slightly, "I don't see why she couldn't participate. Is this about the fact she is a woman? Because there _are_ two other female pilots competing besides her -"

"It has nothing to do with that," he responded quickly. They stopped walking, now that they had reached the edge of the park. Lucrezia could see her vehicle parked a couple spots away. Milliardo let out a soft, frustrated sigh. "I shouldn't be telling you this, but I don't believe the RMSTC has as many safety regulations in place as they say they do."

"What do you mean?"

"You know the fights today? _Four_ people were injured in three separate battles. One boy, Richard Prixton, is suffering from a concussion and a broken arm." Milliardo paused for a moment, letting the information sink in. "Hilde is a novice compared to half the pilots participating; she could be seriously injured fighting against them."

"She can take care of herself," Lucrezia responded defensively, beginning to get angry at Milliardo's dismissive tone towards Hilde. _She has worked to hard and become to good to be considered a _'novice', _Milliardo._

"I'm not saying that she can't, Lu, but I don't want her running the risk of injury! You must talk her out of competing; she _will_ be seriously hurt if she continues on against better and stronger pilots!" Milliardo replied, a definite tone of fury appearing in his voice. His normally handsome face was contorted by anger. "Why can't you understand that I'm only looking out for her, for what's best for her; do you _want_ her to be hurt badly, just for the thrill of battle?!"

"You cannot expect her to give up her dreams for that reason! She knew the risks when she entered the contest! Have some faith in her skills, and I _guarantee_ she will do excellently!" Lucrezia retorted, allowing herself to reveal her fury as well. Milliardo turned away from her, obviously not wanting to continue their argument any further. "Don't walk away when we're talking, Milliardo!" she said, reaching out and grabbing his arm.

She was answered with a smack across the face. 

Her eyes wide with horror, her expression that of shock and surprise, Lucrezia turned slowly back to face her lover. Tears were welling in her eyes, and she fought to control a sob rising up within her throat. She managed to choke out one word; "Milliardo…"

Milliardo dawned an expression similar to her own; he seemed as surprised by his actions as she. Seeing Lucrezia so close to tears was enough to make him realize the gravity of what he had done. Milliardo began replying to her, stumbling over the words, "Lu, Lu – please, don't leave – Lucrezia, listen; I – I didn't mean to… Lu!"

But she would hear no more of it; Lucrezia Noin was running to her car, tears streaming down her bruised cheek, unable to hold back her sorrow. Without a backward glance, she was inside her car, driving away from her love.

~*~*~*~

Milliardo stood alone in the rain outside his apartment, still clutching to the umbrella Lucrezia had left behind. He did not bother to hold it above his head, blocking out the rain; it hung limply beside him, gathering a small puddle inside. A half hour had past from the incident in the park, but still he did not dare look back on it. He wanted the event to stay indistinct, hazy; as undefined as the intermingling rain clouds above. But he knew he couldn't do that. He had to know why. 

_Why had I hit her_? 

He closed his eyes in shame, clenching his fists, angered with himself. He did not know why he had done it; he couldn't recall ever _thinking_ of doing such a thing. And yet, it happened. _Why_? 

Instantly he had regretted what he had done; of course, he did. He loved her. He would never hurt her. 

But he _did_ hurt her. Deeply, and he knew it. The overwhelming guilt and shame of what he had done washed overtop of him, drumming into his brain as harshly as the large, soaking raindrops splattering atop his head, drenching him to the bone. Never had he felt such inner turmoil. Even as Zechs, his actions never brought on such moral consequences. He didn't believe in ever hitting a woman, under any circumstances, and yet, it was exactly what he had done.

_I'm horrible; I didn't deserve Lu in the first place_.

What had brought him to do it? The thought plagued his mind, and he was unable to push it away. It haunted him, as most dire recollections do. He had no choice but watch it repeatedly, the shock dawning across her face, the tears welling in Lucrezia's pale blue eyes. And how he pleaded with her, begged her to listen, to understand he had not meant to hurt her.

_She'll never forgive me; I'll never be able to tell her_…

He reminisced at all the times she had waited for him, so patiently while he placed his work before her. The Preventers office had taken on heavier loads in the past month, and so he never got to be with her as much as he wanted to. The frustration of the constant workload was overbearing and increasingly stressful. A thought dawned across his mind, breaking upon him like the surf of the sea. He had taken his frustration and tension out on _her_. He had used her as a medium to release his frustration. 

The realization of why he had done it caused him to well up with even more guilt. _What kind of person does that to their lover? What is wrong with me?_

"Milliardo? What are you doing out here, standing in the rain?"

The voice instantly snapped him back to reality, and he looked up quickly in surprise, greeted by none other than Midii. She stood in front of him, holding her own umbrella above her. "Thank God I ran into you; some news about our case just came up."

Shaking his head, trying to focus his thoughts, Milliardo replied, "You mean about the instigator gathering pilots?"

Nodding, Midii replied, "One in the same. Apparently, one of our sources claims that the ringleader of this group may be competing in the RMSTC. They're using it to scout out new recruits, seeing whose the best." She paused for a moment, eyeing Milliardo suspiciously. "Are you all right? I thought you had a date with Lucrezia tonight."

"It was discontinued until further notice."

Midii chuckled lightly, replying, "You must be working too hard, referring to it so formally. Anyway, back on subject. What do you think of the new information?"

Milliardo contemplated for a moment, reassembling his thoughts. Finally, he responded, "It does seem to make sense. The best pilots will be contending in the RMSTC, besides the Gundam pilots and me. It would be a good source to find skilled pilots interested in world domination."

"That's what I thought. But I'm still not sure what this guy is after, or why he is trying to disrupt the peace. We still haven't found any clues to a motive, or even _who_ it is for that matter." Glancing at her watch, Midii sighed and said, "It's getting late; do you want to continue this discussion tomorrow at the office?"

Nodding slowly, Milliardo replied, "That would probably be best. I should go inside anyway; I've been out here too long as it is."

"Well I'm glad I ran into you; see you tomorrow," Midii responded, walking away. Suddenly she paused. "Oh, and Milliardo - get some rest. You look like shit." 

Without so much as a backward glance, Milliardo continued on his way to the apartment door, his thoughts revolving around what Midii had said, while thoughts of Lucrezia drifted far away in the dark recesses of his mind.

~*~*~*~

It was over an hour before Lucrezia could bring herself to look into a mirror. She did not want to see the broken woman she had become. She sat alone, tears streaming silently down her face, inside her bedroom bathroom, wrapped, still fully clothed, in a towel to soak up the rain, ignoring the mournful woman gazing back at her from the glass across the room.

Looking back on their relationship, she had come to realize that she and Zechs (she would not refer to him as Milliardo, he was no longer the decent man she knew) had always had a barrier in between them; something holding them back from ever becoming truly emotionally attached to one another. Even today, all they really spoke about was work. Focusing her mind onto finding the barrier - not wanting to recall earlier, at the park - she spent most of that hour searching for why they were so distant from one another.

She had decided upon what it was. Perhaps because of what Zechs had done to her that night, but Lucrezia suddenly had such a fierce hatred for men that she had never noticed before. The reason they never became close to one another was the fact she was so independent from him. She didn't need his constant acceptance, his approval of her actions and beliefs. She didn't need him. And so, Zech was angry with her, just for the fact Lucrezia was her own person. He wanted a woman dependant on him, someone like that _slut_, Midii. 

No longer thinking rationally, Lucrezia focused her anger onto Midii. _I've seen her flirting with him, always asking for a private word with him. He never tried to stop her, never disagreed to go with her. He would leave me all alone, drop me in a second, just to go see her and look over a couple files Midii could have taken care of herself. I hate them both. I hate_ him_._

Suddenly Lucrezia wiped the tears from her face, gingerly touching her calming bruise on her face. _I'm thinking crazily; Midii wouldn't do that to me. I'm sorry, Midii; I'm being so stupid right now. I can't think clearly._ Suddenly taking on an expression of set determination, Lucrezia stood up from atop the closed toilet and walked over to the mirror on the wall. _Lu, don't worry about him. Don't even think about _him_. He's dead to you, from now on. No decent man would ever hit a woman._

Nodding in agreement with herself, trying to convince herself she was right, Lucrezia then moved deftly to her makeup bag, reaching inside and pulling out her concealer. It wouldn't be a pretty sight, but it would be better than letting everyone see a fresh bruise on her face. She still had her pride to keep.

_I refuse to be anyone's pity case_. _I don't need anyone._

At that moment, her telephone rang abruptly, bringing Lucrezia's thoughts back to the present world. Finishing haphazardly, she put her make up bag away and rushed to answer the phone. The voice on the other end surprised her; an old friend was calling, by the name of Deidre Keeri.

"Some friends of mine want me to D.D.? All right, I'll be there quickly, Dee. No, it's no problem. Yeah, I know your place. Bye." She was surprised at how cold she had sounded, speaking to a friend. _I must act normally; they'll suspect something otherwise._

Grabbing her raincoat, she threw it on for the second time that night. Looking back across her room, she saw a photograph taken of she and Zechs last summer. They were both smiling slightly, glancing at the camera and not at each other. _Bastard._ She walked across the room, picked the picture off the walk, and placed it inside her desk drawer. She didn't need him anymore.

~*~*~*~


	10. Party All Day, Drink All Night

A/N: I am terribly, terribly sorry it took me this long to update! I didn't forget about it, I was just having severe writer's block for the past three months. I apologize for making you wait so long; please forgive me *makes puppy dog eyes*.

~*~*~*~

"…And that's what happened," Noin said dully, leaning gingerly on the old, oaken table. "I don't know what I should do; I think I overreacted, but I'm not sure…" She sighed tiredly, rubbing her sore cheek attentively. "What?" she added, glaring at her comrades.

Relena stared at her with a mixture of shock and horror, the same expression mirrored on Deidre Keeri's face. Even Hilde (dragging along a sobbing, mournful Dorothy) joined in at the table to hear what happened. Relena glanced down to the oak surface, grabbed her beer bottle, and glided it across the table to Noin. "Here," she said monotonously, sounding distant or as if in a stupor, "you need this more than I do, Lu."

"I'm DD-ing, remember?"

"I'll get Merrick to give us all a ride. Try to make the day end a bit better, and have some fun killing brain cells."

Noin gave a bitter smile and reluctantly took the amber bottle. She swirled the glass container, watching the contents bubble against it, and set it back on to the table. Sighing tiredly, she replied, "I can't quite yet, I'm not in the mood."

A stifled sob escaped Dorothy's lips, her head cradled in her arms, and the drunken girl shuddered slightly. Dee gave her a comforting pat on the arm, trying to consol her. Slowly her shaking sobs quelled, and she raised her head again, her eyes puffy and red. "I'm sorry I'm such a wreck you guys," she spoke embarrassedly, dabbing at her eyes with an old napkin, "I must be so annoying…"

"Don't worry about it; you've had a tough time yourself," Hilde said softly, passing Dorothy a cleaning serviette to wipe her eyes. "We've all been having a tough time. Well, all of us minus Relena."

"Do you want to pick up where we left off in our fight, or need I remind you the damage I can do?" Relena spat angrily, rising off her chair and stepping forward to Hilde.

"Fine by me, just don't expect me to be so lenient on you twice," Hilde retorted, likewise pushing her chair roughly back and stood, fists clenched.

"Girls, _please_- not now," Madame Keeri said quietly, a tired but stern edge in her voice. Reluctantly Relena and Hilde sat back into the chairs, glaring icy daggers at each other. Dee carefully sat back down, glancing between the two, and making sure they didn't change their minds. When she decided they were safe, she returned her attention to Lucrezia. "What are you going to do, Lu?"

Noin watched at her for a moment, contemplating a response. "I _don't know_," she finally said exasperatedly, picking up the beer Relena had gave her and took a swig. She swallowed loudly, scrunching her eyes together as the contents burned down her throat. "What should I do?! Should give him a chance, ignore him completely, _press charges_? I feel – I feel so lost."

"Kick his ass," Dorothy suggested, blowing her nose into the serviette she was given. "Kick him up and down the street, then make him beg for your forgiveness."

"Dorothy, you're talking about my brother!" Relena said haughtily.

"You were the one who was going to kick his ass before I told you what happened," Noin reminded her.

"So?" she retorted, crossing her arms and leaning deep into her wooden chair. "It's not like I couldn't…"

Dee shook her head exasperatedly, rubbing her throbbing temples lightly. "You've stopped making sense, dear; I'm going to get you another beer."

"Can I have my fifth shot of tequila too, please?" Hilde shouted to her, looking over her shoulder as Dee dug behind the mahogany counter.

"You've already had nine shots," she retorted irritably.

"I've forgotten how to count, so what? G_iiimme liquuoooor_!" Hilde whined, leaning as far back as possible in her chair. Relena took this as her chance and struck her foot sharply outwards, connecting with one of the chair legs Hilde was balancing on. Landing on the floor with a sharp thud, Hilde caught her head on the edge of the table behind her. A string of unmentionable curse words blurted from her mouth as she pulled herself into a sitting position. "Omae o kurosu," she said fiercely to Relena, who was grinning smugly, and Hilde struggled to resist her urges and punch that smile off the blonde witch's face.

"Try it and Merrick will cream you," Relena replied confidently, adding a sickening-sweet "Thank you Dee!" before accepting the beer Madame Keeri gave her as she returned to her seat. Hilde glared at her from across the table, refusing to lift her gaze even while she accepted her new rounds of tequila.

"Actually," a voice said from far back in the bar, somewhere around the vicinity of the entranceway, "from what I know, Merrick refuses to hit a woman, at least in theory."

Hilde grinned widely, wincing slightly as she rubbed the freshly forming bruise on the back of her head. Even through the fog of inebriation, she recognized to whom the voice's owner. Calling out in the direction of the door, Hilde said, "What are you doing here, Samantha? Are you lost?"

"Not at all," the redhead replied smilingly, marching between the tables to the girls. Pulling up an extra seat and setting her coat on the back of it, she sat down amongst them. "It was lucky I caught up with you guys, considering I can't even find my way around with a map and compass. I ran into Merrick as I was touring the city; he told me where to find you, Relena." Raising her eyebrow as she looked from girl to girl (noticing the bruises on Hilde and Relena's faces, as well as Dorothy puffy, red eyes), she continued, "That wasn't the only people I ran into. I saw you two ladies' exes," pointing to Hilde and Dorothy. "Duo and Heero were carrying a rather drunk Quatre on their way out of the Tight End bar. I told them where I was heading, and I invited them to meet me back here once they dropped the lightweight off at his house."

"WHAT?! Why would you do that?! I don't want to see Duo after what happened today!" Hilde sputtered, nearly choking on her tequila shot.

"And why didn't you force them to bring Quatre with them?! I wanted to try and talk to him about today…" Dorothy whined, trying (though not too successfully) to hold back a fresh burst of tears brimming in her eyes.

Samantha shrugged nonchalantly. "I thought it'd give me a good chance to get to know them. You here are about the only people I know in this damn city besides Merrick." Gesturing to Dee and Lucrezia, she asked, "Any who are you two anyway?"

"Lucrezia Noin; Preventor."

"Deidre Keeri, proprietor of the bar you sit in now."

"A bar owner?" Samantha said, intrigued. "You've got good taste in friends, Hilde. I'm Samantha Grey; mobile suit pilot." She extended a hand to each of them and proceeded to give them a shake. "Could I get a scotch on the rocks? No ice?"

"Um (_on the rocks with no ice?_) … All right; I'll be right back," Madame Keeri said (a bit tiredly), pushing out from the table. Relena thought she distinctly heard Dee muttering something like "…After all, it's not like walking back and forth from the bar all night isn't tiring…" before wandering back to the bar. Shrugging and raising her eyebrows slightly, Relena turned back to face the rest of the silent guests around the table.

After a moment of tense silence, Samantha clicked her tongue. "Well…this sure is a riveting conversation. I'm so glad I'm spending my time hanging with you guys instead of cruising around the city."

"No one's making you stay!" snapped Dorothy impatiently, obviously still miffed that Quatre wouldn't be coming.

"Don't take your issues out on me, girlie."

Silence continued for a bit, only interrupted by the sound of a ringing telephone and a muffled "Oh for – what now?!" from Madame Keeri in the back.

Clicking her tongue again, Samantha made another attempt at conversation. "I'm sensing that I walked in on…_something_ going on here, and if you don't want to let me in on it, that's fine, but I don't think I can stay awake much longer if this is all we 'talk' about."

"I don't know if you can be let in on this, Sam," Hilde said carefully, giving a sideways glance towards Noin. "It's not really mine to decide."

Catching the meaningful glance, Samantha looked to Noin. Sighing, Lucrezia said in a mock-careless tone, "Fill her in if you want; if you three already know, then the whole damn country will find out about it by noon tomorrow anyway." Grinning at Lu, Hilde turned to Samantha and began explaining. Dorothy's arms lay on the tabletop, her head resting comfortably on them. Relena sat and watched the others, eyes struggling to stay open, as if on the verge of being sick (from the drinks) or passed out.

"Where's Madame Keeri off to? She hasn't come back yet…" Dorothy said suddenly, causing Relena to jump in her seat and sit bolt upright.

"Don't do that, Dorothy!" Relena said angrily, "With a lurch like that to the system, I coulda puked everywhere!" 

"Ew, nasty mental image, ew…" Dorothy replied, squinting her eyes and rubbing them, as if in hope to drive the images away.

"I'm back," Madame Keeri said cheerfully, setting Samantha's drink down and beamed, smiling, at them all. "You would not believe who just called."

"Who?" asked Noin, intrigued.

"My sister, Danielle," Dee continued, still smiling widely. "She informed me that she won two tickets to a two-week vacation in Italy!"

"Really? That's awesome!" Hilde exclaimed, "When is she going?"

"Well, that's part of the reason why she called me. Apparently, she can't make it, as she has to go to a conference scheduled halfway through the vacation time." Dee Keeri paused for a moment, contemplating how to continue. "She said I could have the tickets, or at least give them to someone who could use them," she continued, grinning at Noin. "Guess who I plan to give them to?"

"Who?" 

"You, Lu, duh! If anyone needs an escape from reality, it's you. You can go visit your old base, see old friends –"

"But what about my Preventors' job? We're really starting to get busy, and they need –"

"_You_ need some time off, girl," Dorothy interjected. "You seem to be really stressed."

"Plus you and Milliardo will get apart time," Relena added, "You can have some time to yourself, figured out what you want to do, not to mention see _Italy_!" The girls squealed in excitement, clapping their hands together animatedly. 

"I'll miss the RMSTC, though. It'll have finished by then, and I won't get to see Hilde and Samantha win first place…"

"No, you won't," Dorothy responded, "The final competition is a couple days shy of three weeks from now. you'd be back in time to see the last three days!" 

"But -"

"'But' nothing! Do it! You deserve it," Dee interrupted, placing her arm around Noin. "Come on, I'll even find you a nice boy to fly along and stay with you…"

Noin blushed slightly, "You guys really think that I should –"

"DO IT!" They all screamed together, laughing and pounding their fists together as one on the table. 

Lucrezia sighed, smiling slightly. "Who am I to argue with the majority vote? I'll go -" she added, interrupted by another roar of tumultuous giggling/cheering  "-but with whom?" The girls paused to contemplate.

"I got it," Relena said, snapping her fingers. "Catherine."

"Catherine?" Hilde asked, frowning slightly. A look of recognition dawned across her face and she added, "Catherine! That's perfect! She'd love a chance to get away from that house and all those chores!"

"Call her right now, if it's settled," Samantha suggested, downing the last of her scotch.

"I think I will," Noin said smiling, and pushed away from the table and marched to the back of the bar.

Dorothy looked at them with an odd expression, as if she was suppressing a laugh. Finally, when everyone was staring at her, she said, "Do you realize that Catherine is going to be woken up at two in the morning by a bunch of giggling, drunk girls who want to take her to Italy? She'll think we're all right out of our skulls!" and the rest of the girls laughed as well, feeling better than they had all day. 

When Noin had returned from her call, the girls bombarded her with questions, wanting to know what Catherine said.

"She sounded really sleepy," Lucrezia said, the girls giggling madly, "but she agreed that she'll come with!"

"Well then," Dee said, clapping her hands together once, "I do believe that this occasion deserves a round of drinks, on the house!"

"It's official," Relena whispered, smiling at Dorothy, "Madame Deidre Keeri is my new best friend!" 

Smiling back, Dorothy called out "I'll have a margarita if that's all right, Dee!"

"Me too!"

"Another scotch here."

"How about a Long Island ice tea?"

~*~*~*~

Half an hour later…

~*~*~*~

"Hey you guys, I just thought of something," Samantha said to the group, tugging the sleeve of her coat straight and buttoning the front, "Heero and Duo were going to meet us later; what do you think they'll do if they show up and we're not here?"

"Who cares? I don't think they'll be coming at almost three A.M." Hilde replied, likewise pulling her coat on (rather clumsily due to alcohol) and making towards the door.

"Even if they do show, let's act as if we're standing them up," Relena added, her feud earlier with Hilde no longer relevant. They were back to being friends, although Relena still felt (and quite justifiably) that Hilde was envious of her luck in a new man. Dorothy was already ahead of them, waiting down the street with Noin, holding the taxi that would take them all to their respective homes. 

"Come on, hurry up you three," she called to them, waving her arms to attracting their attention.

"We're coming!" Samantha called back, "We're waiting for Dee to lock up; she's closing early."

"Three A.M. is early?!"

"Apparently."

Appearing behind them, escorted by the sound of jangling keys, Dee sighed and rubbed her hands against her arms for warmth. "It's a chilly night, is it not?"

"That's just because of the rain," Relena replied, her coat still damp from earlier. "It makes everything cold and…sparkly." The taxi up ahead honked the horn impatiently, and Dorothy and Noin were already clambering in. "We better hurry," Relena added, and ran toward the yellow car, laughing as Hilde ran after her and Dee tried desperately not to get her shoes wet from the puddles.

~*~*~*~

I can see clearly now the rain is gone   
I can see all obstacles in my way   
Gone are the dark clouds that had me blind   
It's gonna be a bright, bright sunshinin' day   
  
Oh yes, I can make it now the pain is gone   
All of the bad feelings have disappeared   
Here is the rainbow I've been praying for   
It's gonna be a bright, bright sunshinin' day   
  
Look all around, there's nothing but blue skies   
Look straight ahead, there's nothing but blue skies   
  


~Jimmy Cliff, "I Can See Clearly Now"_  
  
_

And don't forget…please read and review! Thank you!


	11. Revealation

A/N: I don't think I need to explain to anyone that I have not a flying clue how a mobile suit really works, so the details are skewed (made up) to how I figured it might work. If you think it seems really, _really_ unlikely that there are any buttons that could control those things, go ahead and keep that to yourself and leave me to my fragments of sanity. Thankies :)

Time: a couple weeks later

Place: Diamro Battle Field, SE

~*~*~*~

"Hurry up, Samantha; the RMSTC's already begun their announcement!"

"I'm coming, Hilde, I'm coming! I can only run so fast!"

Wildly dashing between passersby, Samantha and Hilde ran through the crowded corridor towards the outside hangar. The RMSTC's important conference, which involved all competing pilots, had already begun and the girls were late. Shoving a middle age woman she never met out of her way, Samantha said breathlessly, "I knew we shouldn't have stopped for ice cream; those bastards take forever to make a sundae!" she slowed for a moment to clutch a pain in her side.

"How was I to know it would take 20 minutes for a small ice cream? At least I didn't order a large…" Hilde retorted, gasping for air between words. Pulling themselves along the remaining distance, the girls stopped just inside the entranceway to the hangar, leaning against the cool cement, closing their eyes, and catching their breath. 

It was hard to believe that only one week had past since the commencement of the Registered Mobile Suit Tournament Competition. Over half the pilots competing were eliminated, sent home wondering what they could have done better and where they had made their mistakes. Hilde and Samantha rose steadily to the top, crushing all opponents beneath them. There, of course, were times that they came close to losing, but somehow they managed to bring certain defeat into miraculous victory every time. Rumors were flying about Diamro Battle Field that the two, dubbed team "Royale"(codenames Queen of Spades for Hilde, Queen of Hearts for Sam), could not be defeated, regardless how skilled the pilot fighting against them was.

Samantha now opened her eyes and let out a despaired groan, glancing around the packed hangar. "Look at how many people are here!" she said, hardly able to hear herself over the murmur of the crowd. "There's no way we'll hear what they're saying up there, let alone reach the front." 

"Then let's ask someone else what's been said already," Hilde replied hastily, glancing around the crowd, hoping to spot a familiar face. Samantha gestured to Relena and Merrick were near the front, but Hilde frowned and shook her head; she and Relena had had another small bickering about Merrick and were not on speaking terms right now. Continuing her search, Hilde sighted Dorothy near one of the back walls where it was less crowded, wearing a wide hat, shades and a light blue summer dress, standing in the summer sun. She signaled to Samantha about her finding, and both girls pushed their way through the throng to the sunning girl. 

"How goes it, ladies? Lovely day isn't it," Dorothy said, smiling and removing her sunglasses. 

"Fantastic," said Samantha dully. Wiping the back of her hand across her forehead, she continued, "I don't know how you can stand the heat like this - I'm an autumn girl myself. Could we move somewhere more…shady?"

"I agree," added Hilde, looking equally tired and sweaty from the run to Diamro. Dorothy nodded obligingly, and they repositioned themselves against a wall in the shadows, pushing their way through the crowd for the second time. A man Samantha never met before shouted "You're stepping on my toe there, hun!" before being silenced by an elbow to the ribs and slowly backing away. Finally reaching the sunless area, Hilde leaned against the wall for support. "So what was the announcement about, Dorothy? Anything exciting?"

Shaking her head, Dorothy responded, looking over the crowd towards the podium, "Nothing we didn't know already. There's no more team competition any longer. From now on it's every man and woman for themselves." She grinned, facing both girls. "I guess Team Royale must part their ways."

Giving a mock gasp of horror, Samantha responded, "The Queen of Hearts and Queen of Spades must now be on their own? Oh the misery, the exquisite tragedy of it all!" Gesturing at Hilde, she continued, her voice falsely mournful, "This _old maid _here won't last two minutes without my assistance."

Catching on, Hilde retorted, "Watch what you say about me, or I'll have to _club_ you."

"Just calling a _spade_ a spade, dear. Don't tell me you're so touchy-feely sensitive."

"Well have a _heart_, Samantha; that hurt."

Suddenly both girls grinned widely, and burst out, "And _Diamonds _are a Girls Best _FRIEENNDD_!" finishing with fits of giggles.

Dorothy, however, was not as amused. She said, punching both girls in the arms, "That's enough girls! God, stop with the puns already! Marilyn Monroe would be spinning in her _grave_ if she heard you butchering her song like that!" Samantha and Hilde ceased their giggles, both girls taking on false expressions of shame, muttering "sorry" under their breath.

The girls paused to listen over the murmuring crowd, seeing if the announcement was still on. When they found it wasn't, Hilde turned to Dorothy and asked, "How are you doing, Dorothy? What I mean is, is Quatre _still _avoiding you?"

Turning her gaze to the ground, Dorothy replied (in a small, dejected voice), "Yes…I tried talking to him earlier today, but I can't even get the chance to apologize because he won't speak to me." She let out a frustrated sigh, drumming her fingers against the wall. "I don't know why he hates me so much. I didn't hurt him that badly, did I?" Rather than answer, Hilde and Samantha proceeded to look more interested with the ground than it actually was.

Quatre continued to avoid Dorothy with a passion, which resulted in Dorothy having more than one killer hangover from all-nighters pulled at Madame Keeri's ("Grroff me; just leave me to _diiiee_!"). From the conversations Hilde had with him, it seemed that Quatre wanted them to be together again, but he also seemed to want to prove he was no one's "bitch" just a bit more (and as we all know, manliness is more important than happiness ^_~). Quatre had simply decided that since he had suffered, Dorothy should have to suffer as well. This, of course, was completely pointless, but it proved to himself that he did, indeed, have a backbone. He was no longer anyone's "bitch", and it felt _good_. 

"You should go talk to him anyway, Dorothy. He can't avoid you forever," Hilde said. "Just run up to him and say you're sorry. He's got to forgive you sooner than later."

Dorothy released a snort of disbelief. "Yeah. Right. I'll do _that_ when you apologize to Relena."

Samantha snickered quietly, and Hilde retorted angrily, "Like Hell I will! She has to apologize to _me first_!"

The fight that caused Hilde and Relena to hate each other with a passion was far too stupid to be shown. All that needs to be said was there was a stack of YM magazines, a "Duo'll never love you!" retorted with a "Merrick is a man-whore!", and a hair scrunchie involved. Neither she nor Relena were speaking to each other at all, except for a few rare occasions when Dorothy or Noin managed to drag them, kicking and screaming, into the same room. The conversations were choppy and difficult to uphold, only lasting until the girls tired of formalities and wanted to scratch each other's eyes out. As Dorothy and Samantha soon found out, the two girl's immaturity was a big pain in the ass.

"Um, speaking of the devil, Relena is on her way over here," Samantha said slowly, pointing over Hilde's shoulder and back towards the crowd. Letting out an exasperated sigh, Hilde turned to face the approaching girl. It was, indeed, Relena, clutching onto the arm of Merrick. Samantha murmured to Dorothy, "If he says so much as one word to me –", adding a gesture that looked as if she'd cut her head off. Dorothy giggled, her mood lightened. 

"Look at the ladies gathering inside the shadows," Merrick said charmingly, giving a warm smile. "Why aren't you out in the sun? You should be enjoying this fantastic weather."

"Try saying that after you've ran six blocks with ice cream melting on your hands," Samantha replied, shaking his hand and smearing stickiness all over it.

Merrick looked at her, disgusted. "Still childish, aren't you, Sammie? Is washing your hands below you?" 

"Nope. I just haven't found the facilities yet."

"Well you should hurry," Relena replied, giving an icy glare to Hilde in the mean time, "I'm certain you are one of the first pilots in this half of the competition."

"WHAT?! You're kidding!" Samantha said, grabbing Hilde's wrist to see her watch. "Do they start at four?"

"Yep."

"Crap! I gotta go, girls; I only have fifteen minutes before I go kick some unsuspecting guy's ass!" she exclaimed, rushing through the crowd for the third time. She met the middle-aged woman she had pushed past before, and proceeded to push past her again. 

Watching as the redheaded girl disappeared into the throng, Hilde laughed to herself. "The Queen of Hearts is quite the card, isn't she?"

"Do _not_ start with puns again," Dorothy said warningly. Hilde just nodded and shot a quick glance in Relena's direction, only receiving a cold glower in return. Deciding she no longer wanted to be part of the conversation, Hilde turned to watch as pilots busied themselves with their mobile suits. This left Dorothy as the only one to uphold their side of the conversation, which she would "readily" thank Hilde for.

"So…" Dorothy said slowly, struggling to find something more intelligent to add. Finding nothing, she continued, "Have you learned anything about piloting yet, Relena? Hasn't Merrick been teaching you over the past bit?"

Unsure what to say in response, Relena began, "Well…"

~*~*~*~

Flashback…

~*~*~*~

"…And this is how you steer forwards," Merrick finished, resting Relena's hand onto the control. "You know everything you need to fly now; why not give it a shot, Relena?"

"Are you sure?" she asked nervously, chewing on her bottom lip. "I don't think I'm ready to fly without you yet."

"You'll do fine," Merrick replied, giving her a warm, reassuring smile.

Relena paused to think for a moment. "Fine. All right. I'll try…"

"Excellent. I'll get out of the suit now and watch from by the stands. If you need any help, just hit the emergency stop and I'll come and see you."

Relena smiled. "Thanks, Merrick." Watching him as he disappeared towards the bleachers, Relena cautiously flicked on the ignition and slowly moved towards the rest of the battlefield. Gaining confidence, she sped up her Taurus suit and ran the length of the field. "Look, Merrick," she excitedly cried over the intercom, "I'm doing it! I'm doing it!"

"Great job! Try flying now," he replied.

"All right…I will." Pressing a button and leaning her controls downward, the suit shot upwards like a rocket into the sky. Glancing around desperately, unsure what to do, Relena followed her first instinct and rammed her thumb onto the emergency stop button. Immediately the Taurus suit ceased rising, and instead, began plummeting towards the ground like a stone. "_Oh shit!_" she shrieked, screaming into the microphone, "_I'M GONNA DIIEEEE_-" 

~*~*~*~

End Flashback…

~*~*~*~

"She's been doing excellently," Merrick replied for her, giving a gentle squeeze to her shoulder. Relena smiled at him, pulling him in for a quick kiss. Hilde made gagging noise in the background, causing Relena to shoot a dirty look in her direction. "Listen," she said, turning back to Dorothy, "We've got to be heading out quickly; Merrick wants to take me out for the afternoon."

Merrick added, "I have something I must attend to first, Relena; but I'll meet you at the car. Is that all right?"

"Of course!" Relena replied. Calling out over her shoulder, she yelled, "It was great seeing you, Dorothy!"

"Bye!" Dorothy said in response, giving a small wave to the retreating couple. Once they were out of sight, Dorothy punched Hilde in the arm. "Just what do you think you're doing?! You had the perfect chance to make up with Relena!"

"Sorry, she was too busy making out with her boyfriend to even speak to me."

"And you were too busy ignoring her and/or making retching noises."

"Your point being…?"

Sighing exasperatedly, Dorothy thumped her head against the concrete wall a couple times, hoping to wake herself up from a completely pointless dream. After a minute of constant thumping, she realized it was here to stay. Sighing, she said, "Has Lucrezia contacted you since she left on vacation?"

"Once. She and Catherine were going to see a café in Venice."

"Yeah. I received a postcard from her a couple days ago. She asked how everyone's doing, how you and Sam are doing in the competition; you know, stuff like that.

Hilde gave a quick nod. "I think she's doing a lot better now that she's had some time to think." She paused, enjoying the sweet breeze blustering through the hangar. "When she vid phoned me, she told me to give a message to Milliardo. She's ready to forgive him; I think she finally gets that he really didn't mean to do it."

"That's great! No matter their domestic issues, those two are really perfect for each other."

"I think so too. Still, I think we should tell Milliardo that if he ever tries _anything_ like that again, we're all going to jump him and kick his ass!"

Milliardo Peacecraft had not been informed of Noin's departure from the country, but only found out once he bribed Relena into telling him. It cost him his car for the next four weeks, plus allowing his sister and Merrick out on dates whenever they wanted, but at least he was capable of giving messages for the girl to relay to Lucrezia. He, along with Heero and Samantha, we not pleased with Relena's choice in boyfriends, but now he could not say anything without being threatened by Relena, saying she'll key his vehicle or "accidently" leave it unlocked, the keys in it, in the middle of a rundown street.

In the distance, a bell chimed, signaling the end of the third hour. Dorothy let out a soft sigh. "Should we go and see Samantha's battle?"

"You mean her 'victory', right? Of course." The girls left the comfort of the shady wall to cross the scorching pavement of the hangar, heading out towards the stadium.

~*~*~*~

Upon reaching her designated hangar for her suit, Samantha found a small note pinned to the door informing her she was scheduled to battle first. Her opponent would be "Thomas Mort". Nodding in acknowledgement, Samantha then began checking over her suit for any final adjustments. Grinning and shaking slightly, her excitement to be the first competing was obvious. Slamming shut the casing on her Taurus suit's right arm, she wiped her forehead free of the sweat droplets forming on it.

"Tired, are you?" a voice called from behind her.

Recognizing the voice, she sighed and turned to face the person. "Only of you, Merrick. What do you want?"

Clicking his tongue, Merrick stepped out of the shadows towards the girl. "Why do you always assume that I only speak to you when I want something?"

"Because that _is_ the only reason you speak to me," she retorted. "Cut the crap; say why you are here for or leave."

"I want to know if you are still in on the deal."

Samantha let out a small gasp of shock, her eyes widening slightly. "You're still serious about it, aren't you? Still trying to take over the world?"

Releasing a small 'tsk' of annoyance, Merrick retorted, "Of _course _not; how trivial of you to judge me so."

"Then why are you here? _You're_ not competing at all."

"I'm here for Relena," he replied, a playful tone entering his voice. He enjoyed toying with Samantha, refusing to tell her what she desired to know.

Samantha responded with a snort of disbelief. "You don't love her."

"Of course not. But she does have…connections. And so will you when you win."

"You mean the Gundam pilots," she said slowly, unsurely. Seeing his expression, she knew it was. Releasing an annoyed sigh, she continued, "Are you _still_ obsessed over that? You weren't picked for the Operation; suck it up!"

"It has _nothing_ to do with that! I'm merely using this unimportant contest to find the elite pilots worthy enough to be graced with my presence."

"Uh-huh, right," Samantha said disbelievingly. "And then use them in a battle against your home country. Why don't you just accept the fact that they didn't _want_ you there? You were too much of a shit-stirrer to be allowed to stay, even as a child."

Merrick's calm composure began to flicker. "I should not have been sent to the colonies to live! My father was the leader of my country; _I_ was next in line. It was me who should have been in control after…after my father…"

"I know," Samantha interrupted, not wanting him to complete the sentence. She and Merrick weren't the best friends, but she still looked out for him. She promised his mother before she… she promised his mother that she would. "You don't need revenge, Merrick. You're parent's deaths were of natural causes."

"Or so they say," he replied bitterly. He seldom showed his emotions, but when he did, they were apparent. Now, he was greatly angered.

"_Don't_ go for revenge," she repeated, hoping he would listen. "It isn't worth the price you'll pay."

Ignoring her, Merrick simply responded, "You have a battle beginning shortly; you best be prepared. Take care, Sammie."

"I will," she replied. Samantha watched as he exited the hangar. "And, Merrick?" she called out, catching him just as he was nearly out the door, "Don't hurt Relena; she really loves you."

Without responding, he left the hangar, leaving Samantha with only a few minutes left of preparation. The church bell chimed down the street, telling her she was needed on the battlefield. "Time to get moving," she said to herself, slamming the leg cover shut. Glancing back to the door one last time, she climbed inside her suit and walked it out onto the field.

~*~*~*~

Feedback on my story has been fantabulous and by far more than I ever hoped or anticipated (43 reviews?! *faints dead away*). It makes me very, _very_ happy to have so many people responding to my work and giving me the will to continue further than I expected on this story. You faithful readers (and new readers, I need you too!) who have stuck with me this far have kept me going, and I can't express how glad I am to know that at least one person out there is enjoying this (or at least lying to me and making me feel better ;). Your reviews have added fuel to my creative fire, and I thank you! 

Kiwii


	12. Disaster Strikes

I'm back! No, I didn't fall into a coma, and I didn't forget. My computer had crashed about mid-December (who knew level 5 was a _bad_ level for your computer to be working on?). I _finally_ found my story documents, and managed to get them put onto my new computer. So I have returned :D 

A/N: I'd like to mention again that I have no idea how the suits work, and that I'm making it up as I go. Forgive me if it seems incorrect to you, but I haven't seen the show for over two years and am running on my poor memory alone ^_^; 

~*~*~*~

Chapter 12

~*~*~*~

"Do you know when the second half is going to start, Duo?"

"Umm…two minutes ago, Quatre."

"What?! You mean we're _late_?"

"No, genius; we're early and everyone else if off-kilter."

"We can't be the last ones to arrive for the second half! We're part of the RMSTC; we're _supposed_ to be overviewing everything."

"Wufei, Heero and Trowa can manage well enough without us. C'mon, Quatre. This is important for me."

~*~*~*~

The crowd, packed tightly against each other in the bleachers, was louder and more energized than ever thought feasible. The entire field seemed to pulsate with excitement, a dull bass thumping down and through the earth. If possible, the screams of anticipation grew louder as they watched the two suits march into the field, waving their arms congenially, both combatants showing eagerness and excitement for the battle. Thomas Mort and Samantha Grey were ready and willing to go, the nerves of pre-battle egging them on. The television screens sitting at each end of the rectangular field flashed on, and across each splayed the likeness of Wufei, informing them that they would begin in thirty seconds. Both combatants flashed their signs of readiness, and awaited the final countdown to begin.

No one knew how wrong the day would go.

~*~*~*~

"This is so weird, seeing her fighting instead of actually fighting alongside her."

"Oh yeah, Hilde; I forgot this is your first time watching her battle," Dorothy replied to the raven-haired girl. Both were situated in the ground-level row of chairs, placed at the halfway point of the field. The seats were reserved for the RMSTC members and a few friends. Neither girl was sure of how close they were considered to being 'friends' of the Gundam pilots anymore, but no one questioned them sitting there, so they figured it must be all right. 

Hilde nodded, biting her lip impatiently. "I wonder how good this Thomas guy is."

"I wouldn't be too worried about him; I'd focus instead on finding Sammie's weaknesses. You'll need to know them and overcome them when you to fight each other."

"'If', Dorothy, not 'when'. I don't even know if I'll make it through so I can battle her."

"Don't criticize yourself, Hilde! Of course you'll make it; you were trained by Lucrezia Noin and are thus expected to kick ass."

Hilde had no response for this, instead choosing to grin back at Dorothy. The excitement was contagious in the bleachers, and both girls were showing symptoms of it. They turned to face the field, now complete with both pilots in a ready position. The countdown clock ticked of the remaining minutes and seconds on the television screens, the first battle growing nearer. Hilde watched with great anticipation, unable to wait and see just how good Samantha really was.

A gentle tap on her shoulder startled her, and Hilde wheeled around in her seat to see who it was. "Duo," she breathed quietly, looking her ex-boyfriend in the eyes. Dorothy, eyebrows raised unbelievingly, turned to face him as well, intrigued by what he might have to say. A small, nearly silent squeak escaped her as she spotted Quatre standing not far behind Duo.

"Hi girls," Duo said, a nervous smile looking out of place on his normally joking face. "Can I speak with you, Hilde? Alone?" he added, giving a small glance towards Dorothy. The blonde girl gave him a short condescending look, then returned her gaze to her friend.

"All right," Hilde replied slowly. "Is that okay, Dorothy?"

Dorothy raised an eyebrow. "Go ahead if you want, Hilde, but don't you want to watch Sammie's fight? I thought we were going to look for her weaknesses..."

"You still can," Duo replied, "I don't think we'll be too long."

"Okay…" Dorothy began slowly, a faint smile playing on her lips. "Be back quick."

"We will," Hilde said back. Pushing her seat back, she got up and turned to go with Duo. She paused for a moment, and then leaned down and whispered in Dorothy's ear, "This is a perfect chance for you to apologize to Quatre. He's _supposed_ to be down here watching the battle, so he can't exactly leave if he doesn't want to talk to you."

Giving a small wink, Dorothy pushed Hilde gently on the shoulder. "Don't take Duo back unless he grovels to you on hands and knees," she whispered in response, and both girls held back a set of giggles from escaping.

Watching as the two walked out of the stands, Dorothy then returned her attention to the beginning battle. A signal began to ring as the countdown clock reached zero. Dorothy glimpsed from the corner of her eye as Quatre sat down beside her, carefully avoiding conversation with her. Dorothy's heart pounded a bit quicker, and she felt as if everyone surrounding her could hear it, it was so loud in her ears. _Just talk to him_, a small voice in her mind said. She shook her head furiously, as if she heard the voice from outside her head.

Quatre glanced at her questioningly, and then cleared his throat lightly. "So…uh, its nice weather for the battle today, isn't it?"

"Uh-huh," Dorothy replied, nodding agreeably. "I – I had to bring my hat and shades today, it was so bright out here." She cringed at the pointlessness of her remark, wishing she could slap herself on the forehead. _Stupid!_

"Yeah," Quatre responded, giving a quick nod and glance in her direction. "I see that you, uh, wore your blue summer dress. It – it looks good on you."

_Jackpot! I win!_ "Thanks, Quatre. I'm glad you like it." Careful not to let a grin slip onto her face, Dorothy looked back to the field, the participants now fully-fledged in combat. It seemed that both suits were evenly matched against each other. An uneasy silence broke out between them.

"Hey, Dorothy; do you know how we make sure no one gets hurt in these battles?"

"I wondered how you could still have weapons, yet no one is in danger of being killed," she replied, eager to start another conversation. 

Quatre nodded again, this time more confidently. "Most of the weapons are still allowed, but the ammunitions were changed so they were less lethal; no high-caliber arsenal. Missiles or other explosives were banned, in order to protect the crowds. Plus, any light weaponry – you know, like the beam sabers – were banned."

"So the battles are closer to paint ball games than actual wars. How come light weaponry was prohibited?"

"Too dangerous," Quatre replied. "Firing lasers inside a battlefield crowded with people was just too high-risk. The strength of the weapons were also difficult to keep low, so we just kept them out all together."

"Well, I feel safer knowing that there are none here," Dorothy responded, giving a warm smile to Quatre. "My protector."

~*~*~*~

Meanwhile…

~*~*~*~

Samantha grimaced as another shot hit her suit, sending her reeling backwards across the field. She regained her footing quickly, and proceeded to release a round of shots at Thomas Mort's suit. _I underestimated this guy_.

Thomas' Leo suit faced hers, watching her without firing. The two suits, standing and facing each other, reminded Samantha of an old cowboy western she saw when she was young. She no longer could remember its name, but muttering "Showdown at the Diamro Field," served to calm and cheer her up at the same time. She had expected no trouble defeating Mort, but he was proving to be a tougher competitor than she had originally believed. 

Ceasing the showdown, Thomas ran at her, his left arm raised out in front of him. This stuck Samantha as odd. _Did he forget they removed the beam rifle from his Leo's arm?_ She thought, momentarily confused.

Then she realized it.

_Oh, no_ –

~*~*~*~

Also happening…

~*~*~*~

"Thanks for agreeing to come with me, Hilde. I know you didn't have to," Duo said nervously, grinning at the girl beside.

"I know I didn't, but I thought I'd give you the benefit of the doubt," she replied, likewise grinning. "This is your one shot, so don't screw it up."

"I don't plan to."

"Well good. I'm glad." Silence broke out between the two, walking towards the suit hangars. Hilde waited for Duo to begin speaking again; to tell her what he dragged her over here for, but it seemed that he wasn't sure how to start. "Duo? What did you want to tell me?" she began for him, hoping it would be enough to get the ball rolling.

"Well…" he began, scratching his head nervously. "I'll just skip right to it. I- I wanted to ask your forgiveness. You know – for the other week? When I threatened you and –"

"I know when you mean, Duo," she interrupted, holding her hands in front of her in a peaceful notion. They stopped walking, not too far away from the field.

Nodding fervently, he breathed a sigh of relief. "Good. Well, I was acting like, well – like a…"

"An ass?" she finished for him, catching a grin from breaking out on her face.

"Well, in my defense, I happen to be an idiot who couldn't think his way out of a paper bag…"

"That's not what you want to talk to me about, is it? Because you could have said that in front of Dorothy and Quatre," Hilde continued, looking both ruefully and hopefully at Duo.

He shook his head slightly. "No, that isn't the reason. It's just…I'd really like it if we could go back to…back to the way we were before."

"As a couple."

"Yeah."

"Hm." A smile playing on her mouth, Hilde fought to regain her composure. It was hard to stay mad at Duo, _especially with those puppy dog eyes of his_…

"Well?" Duo said, lightly clearing his throat.

Hilde remained silent for a moment longer, weighing out her options. Chewing her bottom lip nervously, she tossed around the thoughts in her mind. He did seem sincere in his apology, the way he kept fumbling over his words. And she did miss him; he seemed to be in the same pain as her. _My options are either to _a) _stay mad and continue to miss him, or _b) _give him a shot_.

"Well?" he asked again, a bit more impatiently than before. It was clear that he was anxious for her answer.

"Okay, Duo. I'll take you back," Hilde finally said, allowing the smile to break open on her face. "I missed you too."

"You have no idea," he replied, grinning as well, "I have so much dirty laundry piled on my floor, I can barely walk through my apartment."

"We've been back together for five seconds and you already want me to do your laundry?! I think I was happier being single…"

"I'm bugging you, Hilde. I wouldn't do that to you; not anymore, at least. I'll try harder not to load so much stuff onto you."

Laughing, she slung her arm through his and rested her head on Duo's shoulder, walking back toward the field. Never in the past weeks had she thought Duo would be back with her so quickly. Hilde had thought there was little chance of them ever returning to each other. _But I don't have to worry about that now; we're a couple again_. She smiled to herself at the thought.

Without warning, a loud explosion ripped through the air, followed by a high-speed stream of air and dust. Hilde let out a gasp of shock, the wind whipping past her strong enough to wipe her off her feet. She felt her boyfriend's grip, strong but gentle, on her arm, keeping her from being carried away. Pieces of metal rained down around them, and Hilde screamed as one large piece flew by her head before it collided with the wall beside her. Hilde shivered, pulling herself closer to Duo, cringing at the thought of how close she had come to being injured. She coughed croakily, her eyes tearing up from the debris. "What was that, Duo? What's happening?"

"I don't know," Duo replied, his arm now wrapped around her shoulders. His free hand was covering his mouth and nose, blocking the dust from being breathed in. He squinted in every direction, but the thick dust blocked out any details of their surroundings. They could barely make out the walls on either side of them. Duo huskily replied, "Let's go to the field, quick. It doesn't sound good, whatever it was."

"Do you – do you think it was the battle? Is Samantha all right?" she asked quickly.

"I don't know, but let's go and find out. Hurry!"

~*~*~*~

Meanwhile…

~*~*~*~

"I'm glad that you're talking to me again, Quatre. I wanted to see you so badly in the past week or so," Dorothy said warmly, smiling openly at the blond Arabian.

"I know you did, but I just had some…things I needed to work through before I saw you again," Quatre replied, looking slightly awkward. "I was upset when you broke up with me. I didn't understand why you did it."

  
"I think I still don't," she responded, giving a weak chuckle. "I was messed up and wasn't thinking."

"I'll believe that," he joked, added in his own small, dry laugh. He glanced at the field, seeing the two suits staring each other down without firing. He vaguely recognized the scene, but from where he could not remember. Returning his attention to the girl beside him, he asked, "How are you feeling now, Dorothy? Any less 'messed'?"

"I have no guarantees on that," Dorothy said disbelievingly, "but I think the fog has cleared in my mind. I've figured out that I was a dumbass for breaking up with you."

"You can say that again."

"I was a dumbass for –"

"Not literally."

"Oh." Dorothy gazed forward, watching as the Leo suit charged toward Samantha. "Hey, Quatre? Why is that suit holding its arm out like that? Aren't the beam rifles disar-"

A sudden flash of light ripped from the Leo as it fired a massive shot, feet away from the face of Samantha's suit. The following effects were instantaneous: Samantha's Taurus' body shattered, exploding like a firework, and spraying the wreckage across the field. A gale wind whipped through the battlefield, sending streams of dust and debris everywhere. Dirt whipped about the place, raining down on the crowds. Fragments of Sam's suit spattered down around the field. People began screaming, running chaotically away from the battlefield.

"Quatre?" Dorothy coughed, the dirt clouding her vision. "Quatre, where are you? I can't see…"

"Dorothy! That Leo suit had a small missile launcher or something welded inside the arm! It mustn't have been found during inspection –"

"How could they have done that? And how could it have been potent enough to do so much damage? What about Samantha, Quatre? Is she all right?"

"…I don't know, Dorothy. The impact of that shot…it was too powerful to have been from a regular weapon."

"But - but what about Sammie? We have to go and find her! She wouldn't be too hurt, would she?" She gazed at him hopefully.

Quatre locked his eyes on hers for a moment, barely able to see her through the floating dust, and then let them drop to the ground. "I – I just don't know. That explosion…it was pretty bad; just look around."

Bit by bit, the smoke and dust settled, and Dorothy could now see the emerging pieces of scrap metal littering the field. Parts of both suits were scattered about, some burning with low fires. A figure emerged from the less damaged one, Dorothy could not tell who, but they clutched their right arm close to their body. "Quatre, look there!" she cried, pointing towards the stumbling figure. He nodded, running towards the person, holding Dorothy's hand in his own.

"Excuse me!" Quatre yelled, surprised by a slight ringing he now noticed in his ears - a low hiss flowing through all the sounds around him. When the figure did not respond, he yelled again, "You there! Stop, you may be injured." Inwardly Dorothy scoffed at Quatre, who mustn't have noticed the way he was clutching his arm. Dorothy had decided the figure was a male, seeing it was Thomas Mort's Leo suit they now approached.

"Thomas!" she yelled out, and the figure visibly started at hearing her call out. Watching as he peered through the settling dust around them, Dorothy continued, "How could you, Thomas?! Why did you do this?!" Quatre gave her a look of surprise; he hadn't expected her to be so brash.

She hadn't expected a response, but Thomas replied, his voice shaky and unsure, "I-I was…not my f-fau – H-he-him…it was because of h-h-him…He- wanted me to, he t-told me-e…"

"Who?" Quatre asked as they closed the space between themselves and Thomas. "Who do you mean?"

Dorothy and Quatre could finally see Mort clearly, the dust around them clearing enough for better visibility to return. Thomas was sickly pale, his eyes wide but unseeing. His left arm clutched his right convulsively, as if he were afraid it would crawl away if he didn't hold onto it. He opened his mouth to respond, but no sound came out. He quickly fell to the ground, motionless.

Quatre ran the remaining distance, and felt beneath Thomas' jaw for a pulse. Dorothy was in shock. "Is-is he…?"

"No," Quatre replied, "Just unconscious. The shock from the explosion must have done it."

"Who was he talking abo-" she began, but stopped immediately when she heard a low moan nearby. "Was that Thomas?" She asked Quatre, but knew for herself that the voice sounded feminine: Samantha was nearby.

~*~*~*~

"Sammie!" Hilde called through the descending dust, her hands cupped around her mouth. "Sam, are you okay? Answer me!"

"Over this way," Duo said, pointing towards a nearby heap of metal. "This looks like the largest piece left of the suit. If she were anywhere, she'd be here."

Together they ran across the remaining yards, ducking around the clusters of warped metal. Hilde coughed again as she took in a breathful of the cloudy air. Duo placed his arm around her shoulders, as support as well as comfort. Hilde let out a low gasp as she looked towards the remains of Samantha's mobile suit.

The cockpit was a twisted, charred piece of metal, radiating heat from the blast. An electronic beep was sounding from inside of it, a warning signal for something unknown. Small sparks ignited from the ends of ripped electrical cords, their power unable to reach their destination. Hilde, unable to control herself anymore, gave a stifled sob, stepping towards the remains of the Taurus suit.

"Samantha?" she asked cautiously, afraid her voice would fail her. "Sammie? Can you hear me? Sam!"

Duo stepped closer to it, placing his right hand gingerly on the metal door, which hung on by only one angle. 

"Samantha? Are you inside here?" he called into the cockpit, squinting to see if the female pilot was lying inside. 

A second low groan came, this time closer. Hilde looked frantically about, trying to find its source. Spotting a small shape not too far away, Hilde let lose another sob and ran towards it. "Sam, is that you?" she cried out again, choking slightly on the settling dust. She stumbled on a piece of debris in front of her, nearly falling herself. The small figure moved slightly, and let loose a stream of coughs.

"Duo! She's over here! I found her!" Hilde shrieked, her voice higher than usual. She quickly bent over to the injured girl, hesitating whether or not she should move her. Letting out another stream of coughs, Samantha tried sitting up, only to fall back down.

"Don't move, Samantha – you could be seriously injured," Duo yelled out, running to close the distance between the girls and him. He tripped over the same piece of metal Hilde did, this time wiping out and landing on the ground.

"h-hil-de" Samantha choked out, trying to turn to face her friend. "I sh-ould have told…you – every-one…it-it was h-him…"

"What? Who do you mean, Sam?" Hilde said, wiping her shining cheeks from tears. She noticed Samantha's struggling, and tried to help Sam face her. Samantha's eyes were struggling to stay focused, and blood was dripping from a deep wound on her forehead.

Duo, limping to the girls and bracing his injured leg, reached inside his coat pocket. What he pulled out was a small cellular phone. "I'm going to call an ambulance right away for you, Samantha." Seeing his eyes darted down to the injured girls legs, Hilde looked down and released a shocked gasp.

What was Samantha's right calf was now primarily a mangled mass of flesh. Her left calf, while less injured, was riddled with deep cuts and gouges, and was on a peculiar angle compared to her knee. Blood flowed from scrapes and cuts along Samantha's arms and face. She was losing large amounts of blood, yet was still struggling to tell Hilde something.

"I-you…need t-to know…" she breathed strenuously, every word causing her great amounts of pain. "M-Merrick…he's da-dangerous. He wan-wants the g-Gundams…badly. He-he's going to u-use Relena as…" but before she could finish, Samantha collapsed of exhaustion.

The siren of an ambulance wailed nearby, growing closer every second. But Hilde could not hear it as she was sobbing into Duo's comforting arms.


	13. Blur

Chapter 13 – Blur

1010101 -- signifies change in location (old one doesn't work) The rest of the afternoon had passed as a blur. Hilde could remember portions of the events, small pieces tracing her back to a larger fragment. She could remember the frantic wail of the approaching ambulances, weaving between chunks of metal. She could recall how Samantha had taken on a deathly pale color, her breath noisy and shallow. She could remember how EMS had looked so sad and had not expected Samantha to make it through the night. Hilde had come along in the ambulance, keeping Samantha company on the trip to the hospital. She had continued to sit outside of the emergency room, hands folded into each other, placed upon her lap. She had received a call from Duo earlier and had informed him where she was and how Samantha was doing. He told her Dorothy would be arriving at the hospital soon; she had important information she would want to hear. Quickly giving her a brief idea of what it was, Duo had to hang up in order to help Quatre and the other pilots take care of the rest of the wounded. And so Hilde sat on an old metal bench outside the operating room, trying not to think of the memories she could recall of the afternoon, how her close friend was lying on an operating table a mere room away. She kept turning over in her head what Samantha had told her moments before the ambulance arrived. _"I-you...need t-to know..." she breathed strenuously, every word causing her great amounts of pain. "M-Merrick...he's da-dangerous. He wan-wants the g- Gundams...badly."  
_ It was almost a relief when Dorothy arrived. Upon sighting her, Hilde unclasped her hands from her lap and sprung forward, desperate for answers. Dorothy stepped forward quickly, grasping her friend into a hug. Both girls trembled, close to tears. It was Hilde who finally broke, holding tightly onto Dorothy as her tears began to fall. "How is Samantha?" Dorothy eventually whispered, slowly helping Hilde back onto the metal bench where she originally was sitting. Hilde dabbed at her eyes with a damp tissue, her lower lip still trembling. "From what the doctors have said, Samantha is lucky to be alive. They said they have the bleeding under control, and her left leg in a cast, but the damage to her right leg is extensive..." "Oh _shit_..." Hilde nodded in agreement. "They say they can repair most of it, but that she'll likely never walk on it again." Dorothy didn't know what to say to this, so she stared silently at her feet. The two girls sat in silence for a while, listening as nurses walked by with meals and medicine, patients wheeled around slowly in wheelchairs, loved ones conversed quietly in the waiting room. It was Hilde who finally broke the silence. "Did Thomas say who ordered him to do such a thing?" Hilde cried out, tears falling freely from her red eyes. Dorothy let out a pained grunt, slowly shaking her head. "He passed out before he could tell Quatre and me any more information." She paused, chewing on her lower lip. "He's in really bad shape as well, Hilde. I think whoever forced Thomas to attack Samantha didn't even expect he'd survive, let alone them both." Hilde nodded slowly. "Did you get ahold of Relena and Heero? Tell them what happened?" Dorothy replied, "Heero met us shortly after the first ambulance, the one Samantha was in, left. I got hold of Relena via her cell phone. She said she was going to be here soon." No sooner had she spoken the words, Relena appeared from around the corner, her coat trailing on the ground, hanging off one of her arms. She looked around slowly, and when she did spot her two friends, her face broke into tears. "Oh, Hilde, I'm so sorry for fighting with you! It was so stupid; you can have the magazines if you really want them!" she cried, sweeping the raven- haired girl into a bear hug. "Don't worry about it, Relena; I can give your hair scrunchie back too if you want," Hilde replied, fresh tears leaking from her eyes. Pulling Dorothy into the hug, the girls cried to each other, silently comforting one another. Relena stepped back for a moment, wiping her eyes with her coat sleeve. "How's Samantha? What happened at Diamro?" she croaked. Hilde and Dorothy began retelling her the events at the field. The three friends sat on the small metal bench, listening to the crisp click of the nurses walking by with meals and medicine, patients wheeling around slowly in wheelchairs, loved ones conversing quietly in the waiting room. When the story was finished, Relena sat in silence, allowing the information to sink in. Hilde dabbed at her eyes again, drying the final tears she had cried. Dorothy flagged down a nursing, asking him to bring them some coffee with cream and sugar. Hilde suddenly remembered that she had not told them of what Samantha had told her. She sprung up immediately, shocked that she could have let something so important slip away from her so easily. "Dorothy, Relena; there is something I forgot to mention to you. Samantha –"Hilde began, but was interrupted by the ringing of a phone. "Sorry!" Relena said sheepishly, reaching into her purse and pulling the jangling cell phone from within the mess. She hurriedly removed herself from the ER, knowing she would get in trouble for leaving her phone on inside the hospital. Dorothy looked to Hilde. "Well? What about Samantha?" "She mentioned something before she blacked out. She said that Merrick was dangerous, and that he wants something to do with the Gundams! I think Relena may be in danger!" 1010101 "Hello?" Relena asked into the tiny mobile phone, standing outside the hospital entrance. A few nurses were looking in her direction from inside; they continued to give her dirty looks, seeing how she had ran through the corridor with the wringing phone. "Relena!" a familiar voice called out. "It's me, Merrick. It's important that you meet with me urgently; I found some things out, some things that have to do with what Thomas said." "Really?" Relena asked excitedly. "Well, what are they?!" "I can't tell you over the phone – anyone could be listening to us. I have a car sitting outside the hospital right now. Could you go to it please?" As soon as he finished his sentence, a long, black limo flashed its headlights, signaling to her where Merrick was. "I see it! Tell me once I'm inside the vehicle." she replied. She ran towards the limo, shutting her cell phone off. Above, angry grey clouds began to stir, threatening to rain at any second. Relena reached for the door handle and stepped inside the vehicle. She breathed a sigh of relief, pleased she had missed the beginning of the rain. Slowly she opened her eyes and looked around at the interior of the limo. Merrick was nowhere in sight. "Merrick?" she said uncertainly, peering suspiciously around in the limo. She sat quietly, thinking about the odd conversation she had just had with him. "Merrick, no one told you about what Thomas said this afternoon," She started slowly. "How did you find out?" Receiving no answer, she began reaching for the door handle in order to leave, but was startled when it locked itself. "Merrick, this isn't funny. Samantha is hurting in the hospital right now, and Dorothy and Hilde need me! If you don't tell me what's going on, or have anything vital to tell me, I need to get back inside quickly!" "I'm afraid," a voice replied, reaching out from the front of the vehicle, startling Relena and causing her to gasp with fright, "Master Merrick is not with us at the moment." The voice was deep and rich, a cultured voice. Relena suspected it was the driver of the limo, the same person who had flashed the headlights at her. The voice continued, "Master Merrick has, however, informed me where to bring you, young lady, once I had accosted you. He apologized for not being here in person, but he has other matters to attend to." "What do you mean?" Relena began, her voice quavering. "What's going on?" "Why," the voice replied, and Relena could almost see the malicious grin accompanied with the dark voice, "The beginning of everything." Relena uttered a scream as the limo began driving away, removing her from her unsuspecting friends within the hospital. 

1010101

In case you were confused by Relena and Hilde's conversation (involving the YM magazines and the scrunchies), look back to Chapter 11 Sorry, sorry, sorry, SORRY for being a slow updater! Big stupid writer's block keeps hitting me, and I can do nothing to stop it --. I hope that this chapter can tide you over until I finish the next one; I did a major overhauling and ended up changing how I originally was planning the story to go; it took me this long to realize how unsatisfying the original ending was, as well as to plan the new ending. So, That's All Right is actually going to be longer than I expected and filled with more of my stupid humor and excitement. Hope you all will stay to enjoy it with me. I have every intention to finish this story! Woohoo! THANK YOU FOR ALL THE REVIEWS AND FEEDBACK! HUGS AND SCHNOOGLES TO YOU ALL!  
  
Kiwii 


	14. Cheeky

Chapter 14 – Cheeky

1010101

"A phone call shouldn't take this long, should it?" Dorothy asked, pausing to sip on the cup of coffee a kind intern had brought her (after she kindly forced him to).

Hilde shook her head, "Unless it was something vital about today at Diamro, but I doubt anyone would have found out any news to tell Relena." She set her Styrofoam cup down beside her on the bench, lazily waving her hands above the coffee fumes to soak in the warmth.

"Do you think we should go look for her?" Dorothy continued. "She couldn't have wandered far."

Thinking for a moment, Hilde replied, "Yeah, let's go look for her. I should take a break from sitting here so long; maybe I'll get some blood flowing in my legs." She paused again, adding, "It probably wasn't a wise decision leaving Relena alone anyway, seeing as she has no idea about Merrick."

Together the two girls stood up, stretching their arms for a moment before grabbing their coffees. Hilde held her cup beneath her face, breathing in the balmy aroma and relishing in its warmth. The summer had never grown this chilly before; she suspected it may even drop below zero tonight (32 F). The forecasted drizzle would likely turn to freezing rain before the break of day.

They walked the corridor in silence, pausing every once and a while to ask others if they had seen a blonde girl walk past, but to no avail. Eventually, they reached the entryway of the hospital, glancing at its rows of empty metal chairs, magazines sitting helter-skelter on small end tables. Several potted plants sat about, their leaves pale from not having been exposed to real sunlight. Having not spotted her yet, Dorothy suggested that they head back to the front desk and ask if either of the two nurses positioned there had seen Relena.

"Excuse me," Hilde began, raising her left hand in an attempt to catch either nurse's attention, seeing as they were conversing adamantly to one another. She waited a few moments before retrying. Again, to no avail.

Hilde released a frustrated sigh and tried a third time. "Pardon me, but could you help us?" she spoke, raising her voice slightly, allowing a note of impatience to seep in. Again, no response. For a fleeting moment, one of the nurses (a young, frowning girl in her mid-twenties) had looked in their direction, only to revert to her conversation with the elder nurse.

Hilde felt like scowling herself. "How are we supposed to ask them if they have seen Relena if they won't even look at us?" she asked Dorothy, pouring the last of her coffee into a nearby potted plant.

Dorothy broke out in the first genuine smile of the night. "I've got an idea," she replied, "and it involves repaying them for their 'great hospitality' to us in this hospital."

Before Hilde could question her further, Dorothy began walking closer to the front desk, her half-filled coffee cup still in hand. As she began to step on a rather large entryway mat, Dorothy acted as though she had caught herself on the runner. She let out a surprised gasp (although obviously false, in Hilde's opinion) as her Styrofoam cup fell out of her hands and poured all over the front desk.

"Oh my!" she began, mocking embarrassment, "How clumsy of me! I never even saw that mat, let alone felt my foot caught on it." Dorothy had raised her hands to her mouth, an act that made her look all the more convincingly embarrassed, although Hilde suspected it was simply to cover the devilish smile spreading over Dorothy's face.

The younger nurse looked something close to fury, her thin mouth twisting into an even uglier glower than before. "What do you mean you couldn't see the runner? It's near eight feet long and three feet wide! Hasn't your mother ever taught you how to _walk _properly?"

"I said I was sorry," Dorothy replied as she lowered her hands, having now regained her composure. "What more do you expect from a person?"

The elder nurse sighed, using her right hand to pick up a stack of papers, letting the coffee drip slowly out of them. "There goes the flyers for the nurse's banquet, Dolores," she said, running her left hand through her grizzled grey hair. "Feel like redoing them tonight?"

"I feel like doing a lot of things right now, Agnes, the main one currently being sending _this one_ outside for the night with a swift kick to her backside," Dolores, the younger nurse, replied, motioning rudely with her thumb towards Dorothy. Dorothy looked out at the entry doors, and was inwardly surprised to see that it had been raining for some time now. Puddles were growing in the low parts of the pavement, and water was dripping in steady waves from the roof.

"Well, we wouldn't have come down here unless it was very important, right Dorothy?" Hilde said, stepping into the conversation for the first time. She turned to talk with Agnes, the elderly nurse, hoping she would be less rude than Dolores. "I'm terribly sorry, ladies; Dorothy here has an inner ear problem – her coordination is about the equivalent of a sick cow's." Agnes smiled at this, deep crinkles spreading around her mouth and warming her face.

"Not a problem, not a problem. Can't expect everyone to stand upright all the time now, can we?" she replied, letting loose a hearty chuckle. She tossed the soaking stack of papers into the wastebasket beside the desk. "We didn't keep you waiting, did we? My hearing is so poor lately, I likely wouldn't have heard you if you were right behind me!"

Dorothy gave a dark, pointed look to the still-glowering Dolores before replying, "No, in fact, we were just about to ask you our question, only my inner ear acted up again." She gave the elderly nurse a wide smile. "A friend of ours had recently come in –"

"Patient or visitor?" Dolores stiffly interrupted, her arms crossed defiantly across her chest.

"Visitor," Hilde said. "She has medium length blonde hair, sort of flipped back from her face -"

"Like Farrah Fawcett?" Agnes asked.

"Err…yeah. She just had a call on her cell phone and had to leave. By any chance did she pass by here?" Hilde continued, looking hopefully at the two nurses.

"No -" Dolores began, only to be interrupted by Agnes.

"Why yes, I saw someone fitting that description!" Agnes replied, pressing her hand to below her throat. "She came running through here like a bat out of hell, that little phone of hers beeping up a storm! She went right outside, she did. It seemed she didn't to want to disturb the other visitors with it."

Apparently upset about failing to send the girls in the wrong direction, Dolores sighed angrily. "We didn't even get a chance to kindly _remind_ her that all cellular phones are to be left off inside the hospital," She paused again to give an angry sniff that made her pleasant features appear extremely unattractive. Hilde cringed inwardly.

Dolores continued, "She had on plenty of lilac perfume on, that's for sure. I could smell it as she passed by. Felt like pointing out that _all perfumes and scented deodorants are also strictly forbidden from the hospital_. If she was going to put up the effort of breaking the rules, she could have at least worn something nicer, something like DiorAddict or J'Adore.[1] She smelled like an old maid." She waved her hand dismissively, as though removing the memory from her mind.

"Err…right." Dorothy said, clearly not interested in Dolores insight to Relena's choice of perfumes. The mentioning of the lilac perfume was enough evidence for Dorothy; it seemed as though Relena had been through this way. "When did she pass through here?"

Agnes paused thoughtfully for a moment, as though calculating the exact time in her head. "I'd say about half an hour ago, but don't quote me on that."

Hilde turned to face Dorothy. "If she was here half an hour ago, then she's certainly had time to finish that phone conversation and come back to us. She should've been back to where we were by this time."

"Do you think she might've taken a different route back to the O.R.? Maybe we just missed her."

"No, dears," Agnes intermitted, "she was still outside the last time I saw her."

"What do you mean? Did she leave?" Dorothy asked, puzzled by Agnes' comment. She looked to Hilde for a second, seeing a similar expression of incomprehension on her face.

Agnes gave a deep nod. "She left in one of those stretch limos you always see famous actors and actresses take. Say, your friend wouldn't actually _be_ Farrah Fawcett, would she? I would _love_ to get an autograph of hers."

"Sorry, but she isn't," Hilde replied distractedly, still trying to decode the recent information.

"Thank you for your help; you've no idea how useful you've been," Dorothy said to Agnes, purposely ignoring Dolores (who was scowling once again).

"Certainly, dear," Agnes replied warmly, clasping her crinkled hand overtop Dorothy's, giving it a grandmotherly pat. "It's what we are here to do. If you and your friend need any more help, just come and ask us."

"Of course! I'm sorry about the papers."

"Don't worry yourself over it, dear. They were only flyers, nothing to fret about. Go on and find your friend."

The girls gave a final friendly wave as they walked away from the front desk. They wandered back to the empty rows of chairs before continuing their conversation. Sitting in one of the metal chairs, Dorothy asked, "Why exactly would Relena have left without telling us? It's not like we were very far away; she could have run and told us..."

Hilde nodded, chewing her lower lip thoughtfully. "Unless it was something important and she had to leave immediately. Maybe her brother came to take her home…"

"That was likely it, seeing how it is quite late," Dorothy replied, though both girls sounded unconvinced. She looked to her wristwatch to see exactly what time it was. _10:23 pm__ - well after visiting hours,_ she inwardly thought, a mirthless smile appearing on her lips and fading almost as quickly. They had only been allowed to stay this long because they had a friend still in surgery, and were waiting for results. "Should we head home too?" she asked, turning her attention back towards Hilde.

"No," she responded, "Duo will be by soon to pick us up. He said he'd come as soon as he and the others could."

"They're still busy trying to clean up the wreckage, aren't they?" Dorothy said, already knowing it was true. The battlefield was covered in mangled masses of metal the last she had seen of it. It would take more than one afternoon and evening to remove of all the debris.

And so they sat in silence once again, this time waiting for Duo and the others to arrive, hoping they could bring some information and shed some light on what happened today. Dorothy offered to go back to the O.R. and check how Samantha was, but Hilde said it would be much later when the surgeons were finished with her, and later still before Samantha would be able to speak with them. "I think it's best if we just leave them to do what they need to do."

At about 10:40 pm, Duo and three of the other Gundam pilots arrived at the entryway of the hospital. The girls watched quietly as the boys signaled to someone still sitting inside the vehicle; they appeared to be going to park the car. Shaking his umbrella outside the door to remove the raindrops, Quatre deftly folded the umbrella and stuck it in the crook of his arm. All four boys stepped forward to the girls, who were likewise walking ahead, narrowing the gap between them.

Dorothy pulled Heero into a small, slightly-awkward hug before quickly letting go (she wasn't on well enough terms with him to make it much more). Quatre gave Hilde a small squeeze, whispering "I'm sorry" in her ear before letting go, quickly being replaced by Trowa. Finally it was Duo who swept Hilde into his arms, holding her gently and comfortingly against him. Hilde breathed in a deep breath, enjoying the warmth radiating off his caring arms.

"I'm glad you're here," she said quietly, her face still resting between his neck and his shoulder.

"Sorry I couldn't be here sooner," he replied, brushing a few stray strands of hair from her eyes. "Milliardo's car broke down about halfway here, could you believe it?" She lifted her face to gaze into Duo's eyes for a moment before returning to her original position. They stood comforting each other for several more minutes before Quatre and Trowa forced them all to sit down.

"Where is Wufei? I thought he was coming with you," Dorothy asked, repositioning herself on the cold, metal chair.

"He's still down at Diamro Field; apparently Mr. Donnex – you know him, the president of the RMSTC? – well, he wanted information about what happened today, and to decide whether or not we're continuing the competition," Quatre replied, removing his damp coat and placing it on a nearby chair. He then sat back down, asking "How is Miss Grey? I didn't get to see her, but I heard she wasn't doing well…"

"She's all right," Hilde said, leaning on Duo's shoulder. "She's not great, but the doctor's think she'll make it. Thomas Mort, too."

"Did you find anything new?" Dorothy asked, turning to better face the majority of the group.

Trowa nodded. "We inspected what was left of Thomas' Mobile suit while we were scouring through the wreckage." He looked to Dorothy, who motioned for him to continue. "We found that concealed in the left arm of his suit was a small but potent grenade launcher, or something of the sort. Most of it was destroyed during the explosion, so we can't tell much more about it. From what we could tell, it looked like it was designed for close-range only."

"Which supports the theory that whoever forced Thomas to do this didn't want either pilot to survive," Quatre added, leaning forwards to look at Dorothy. She gave a nod of understanding.

"Why would someone want to kill Samantha? Who would do that?" Hilde asked, shuddering.

"Well, if what Samantha said today was true, then Merrick is a likely suspect," Duo said, placing his arm around Hilde to warm her.

"But why -" Hilde began, but stopped almost immediately.

"Samantha and Merrick knew each other before the RMSTC, isn't that what you said?" Heero interjected, looking towards Hilde and Dorothy. "And Samantha stated that Merrick was after the Gundams moments before she passed out, right?" Both girls nodded slowly.

"She knew too much about him and his plans. Merrick would have wanted to get rid of anyone who was a hold of such relevant information, to make sure they wouldn't talk," Heero continued. "So he set up Samantha's death so he couldn't be held responsible, and in such a way it would get rid of the killer at the same time."

"But why did Thomas go through with it?" Hilde asked. "It isn't like he wouldn't be able to tell the grenade launcher, or whatever it was, was extremely dangerous in close range."

But before anyone could respond, the front doors of the hospital swung open, revealing Millardo Peacecraft, the sound of the rain outside deafening after the heavy silence inside. He shook his head, letting loose a spray of water drops onto the runner below. "Sorry about that; the car broke down again while I was parking it. Have I missed anything?" he asked as he strolled over, removing his soaked overcoat and throwing carelessly over a chair. "Where's Relena?" he asked, glancing over the present party and realizing his sister wasn't there.

"We thought she might be with you," Hilde responded curiously, removing her head from Duo's shoulders, sitting straighter in her chair.

"Why would she be with me? I thought she was coming right here."

Dorothy began, "She was with us for a while, but she left about an hour and a half ago; we thought it was late and you must've taken her home…"

The boys looked to each other; suddenly, everyone was alert and concerned.

"She didn't say where she was going?" Heero asked, a note of alarm entering his voice.

"No," replied Hilde, "She was with us, but then her cell phone rang and she -" Hilde suddenly gasped. "You don't think Merrick got to her, do you?"

Heero nodded grimly. "It was likely a ploy from Merrick. He was trying to get her outside and away from you two."

Dorothy added, "Agnes said -"

"Who's Agnes?"

"Never mind that, Quatre. She said that she saw Relena leave in a black limousine just over an hour ago!" Dorothy looked to each of the concerned faces of the pilots, continuing, "Agnes said she saw Relena run outside to the limo and get in. She wouldn't have done that if it wasn't someone she knew inside it!"

"Didn't she know what Samantha said about Merrick?" Trowa asked, his brow furrowed in puzzlement. Milliardo and Quatre looked equally confused.

"We were about to tell her about Merrick before she left," Hilde responded. Guiltily she added, "I forgot to mention it to her, and once I did remember, her phone rang." She gaze dropped to her hands sitting in her lap.

"You didn't mean to," Duo said, rubbing her consolingly on her arm. "It's not your fault."

"Well, what are we waiting for?" Milliardo asked, standing quick enough to bump his chair back from him. "My sister has been kidnapped and we are sitting around talking? We should be out there looking!" he snarled, grabbing his coat and hurriedly putting it on.

With catlike reflexes Heero stood and grabbed Milliardo by the arm, stopping him a few steps from the door. "Don't try and stop me, Yuy," Milliardo growled menacingly, glowering at Heero.

"Where exactly are you going to look for her, Zechs?" Heero said. Milliardo shook his arm free of Heero's grip, still standing feet away from the doorway, listening to what Heero had to say. "We have no idea where he's taken Relena, where he's heading to, or what his plans are that involve her." Heero shrugged and made his way back to the others. "We're all concerned, Zechs, but its useless trying to track her down without any idea of where she might be."

"Well? What do you suggest?" Milliardo replied angrily.

"For starters, we could try calling her on her cell phone," Heero replied, stating it as though it were the most obvious thing. "Does anyone know her phone number?"

1010101

"_Where the hell are you taking me_?" Relena screeched to the front of the limousine, slapping her hands on the separating glass like a child throwing a tantrum. "_Let me out of this car _RIGHT NOW!"

"Will you _shut up_?" a second voice, different from the rich, deep voice Relena first heard, shouted from within the enclosed front area.

"_NO_!" she screamed in response, adding a fresh pounding of fists onto the glass. She jumped back, startled, as the separating glass slid down, as if in response to her constant hammering. A slender, late-twenties man deftly writhed his way through the insubstantial rectangle, joining Relena on her side of the glass.

"If you don't shut up right now, I _will_ be forced to gag you," the lithe man said threateningly, motioning towards her with his index finger. Relena responded to this with silence, as though deliberating whether or not she should scream. Seeing as she didn't, and the lithe man let out a sigh of relief.

"Thank you -" he began, but was promptly cut off by Relena releasing another bloodcurdling scream. The pitch was so high this time, it sounded like Mariah Carey if she happened to be run over with a pickup truck. The thin man could swear dogs must be barking at it from outside the limousine's doors.

"That's _it!_" he said with finality, and proceeded to adroitly move across the limo to where Relena was currently situated. She stopped screaming long enough to kick him in the thigh and stomach with the soles of her high-heeled shoes, then resumed her torrent of screeching.

"If you don't shut her up quickly, someone is bound to notice!" the driver yelled, hastily peeking back through the glass before returning his gaze to the traffic ahead.

"I'm trying, but she's giving me a splitting headache," the slender man replied, rubbing his left thigh and midsection tenderly. "I'd like to see you come back here and try the same!"

Relena (still screaming in a high pitch) decided this would be a wise time to club the man over the head with her purse. She began whacking at him constantly, kicking to connect with whatever possible on him, her eyes screwed tightly shut. While the purse was doing little damage, her shoes were causing the young man great deals of pain.

Forcing himself through the pain, the thin man tried grabbing both of her legs around the ankles. He managed to catch hold of one, but by then Relena began clawing at him with her carefully manicured fingernails. He released a pained grunt, carelessly wiping away the blood dripping down the back of his hand. _She damn near could've had my face_, he thought wondrously, momentarily dropping his guard.

Relena, using this to her advantage, leaned forward enough to slap him across the face, raking her palm across his cheek.

"_Damnit_!" the thin man yelled, grabbing her by her arm. Relena opened her mouth to release another cry, but he quickly did the only thing he could think of that would quiet her – he bent forward and kissed her on the mouth.

Both parties were equally shocked by this action. Relena sat stunned, wondering where exactly the day had gone wrong. A_nd the morning had started _so_ nicely_… she thought incredulously.

The lithe man, however, seeing Relena was, for the moment, immobilized, had seized this opportunity. He deftly moved from standing (in an awkward, crouched position) to the seat beside Relena, grabbing both of her wrists into one of his strong hands while the other separated his and Relena's mouths, closing overtop of hers.

"How the hell did you manage to shut her up so quickly?" the driver asked, turning his head in a vain attempt to see.

"You wouldn't want to know," the lithe man replied dully, blushing slightly. Beside him, Relena was attempting to resume her screams, only succeeding in causing angry, muffled mutterings into his hand. She tried throwing her arms about but was unable to break free from his grip.

They drove for a few minutes in peace, Relena having given up on breaking free of the thin man's hold on her. She let loose an exasperated groan, slumping against the back seat. After a couple more minutes of blissful silence, the thin man turned to face the girl beside him. Loosening his hold over her mouth slightly, he asked her gently, "If I let go of you, will you start screaming again?"

Relena managed to muffle a response, but he was unable to understand. Letting go a bit more, he asked her to repeat.

Haughtily she replied, "I will not scream _if _you meet the conditions I'm about to state. I won't resume my screaming until you give me your response, and _only_ if it is the response I do not like."

Groaning to himself, the lithe man said dully, "Very well. Let's hear them then."

Nodding in a smug sort of way, Relena wriggled her arms out of his hand, repositioning herself on the leather seat. "Firstly, I want to know as much as you can tell me about what is going on here and where we are going. Secondly, I want to know your name and _his_." She jerked her thumb towards the front of the vehicle.

"Is that it?" he asked, rubbing his temples in a tired sort of way.

Thinking for a bit, Relena replied, "I also believe you should take me out for an ice cream after this, considering your little '_escapade'_. We aren't even dating and you're already trying to get to first base, you cheeky pervert."

1010101

And so that ends chapter 14. Personally, my favourite line is the very last bit ("you cheeky pervert"); I was giggling every time I read over it.

Thank you all for such a great response to this story; I never would have guessed it would evolve to such a drama-filled story when I first began it (oh _so _long ago, ha ha). I am attempting to update more regularly, but chapters seem to be getting longer and longer (length-wise), so I still may take a bit of time between each ; I haven't started writing the next chapter yet, but I have most of it planned out in my head, so it hopefully won't take long.

Also, I would like to mention that the rating of the story may go up from PG to PG-13, concerning future chapters (just in case you wanted to know).

Thank you all once again!

Kiwii

* * *

[1] Added because I very much enjoyed Kamineko's comment :) 


	15. Propositions

Chapter 15 – Propositions

1010101

"I said, does anyone know her cell phone number?"

Heero looked around, viewing the expressions on the other's faces. They mostly looked surprised, obviously not expecting such a simple answer to their problem. Trowa and Milliardo looked at Hilde expectantly, as though they had come up with the idea.

"I can't believe we didn't think of that sooner," Hilde said sheepishly, her hand raised to cover bright red cheeks. "I'm such an idiot..."

"Don't beat yourself up about it; you've had a hard day," Duo replied consolingly, holding her around the shoulders and giving her an encouraging squeeze.

"If Relena was kidnapped, wouldn't her captors have taken her phone from her? Otherwise she could just use it to call the police, or one of us," Quatre stated, looking confusedly at Heero.

"It's worth a try, isn't it?" Dorothy asked, sitting in the metal chair beside the blonde Arabian. "There isn't much else we can do besides drive wildly around the city, hoping against hope that they haven't left town yet."

"Do you have her number, Milliardo? I only ask because she is your sister…" Heero asked. He had gotten to his feet, as though ready to find Relena himself.

MIlliardo shook is head slowly. "She gave it to me a little while ago, but I see her so often that I haven't had much reason to call her, so I forgot it." He added bitterly, "I should have written it down."

"Don't blame yourself either, Milliardo. We couldn't have known this would happen," Hilde said soothingly.

Trowa gave a slight cough, as though to return attention to him. "Not to nag you," he began, his tone moderately cautious, as though careful not to offend either of the girls, "but Hilde, Dorothy: you two are likely the only ones who would know her number. The sooner we call her, the better our chances of finding her."

"That is, if she still has her cell phone on her," Duo added.

"Right," Dorothy agreed, and set her purse onto her lap, shuffling through its contents. She began removing small scraps of paper, looking at each quickly, hoping (as they all were) that she would spot one with a seven digit number scribbled across it. She tossed the useless papers to Quatre, who was making a small pile of them.

"I know I had it in here somewhere…" she muttered, becoming more desperate as her purse began to empty. Milliardo began to tap his fingers against the back of a chair, as though anxious to get a move on finding his sister. Suddenly Dorothy cried out "Aha! Found it!", causing Quatre to almost upset the (now rather large) pile of papers from surprise. Dorothy held the tiny scrap of paper above her head in a victory pose. Across it was the familiar scrawl of Relena's.

"It's about time," grumbled Milliardo, impatiently pulling the scrap from Dorothy's clutches. "Now we need to find a phone."

"Here, we can use my cell," Hilde offered, holding out the small mobile phone so the others could see. Milliardo read the numbers out slowly, giving Hilde enough time to type the numbers into the petite phone. "All right, let's see if she still has her phone," Hilde said, but a chiding beeping tone poured out of her cell the moment she had pressed _Send_.

Holding the beeping phone in front of her, Hilde began clicking through the menus, trying to find what the problem was. She groaned, her hand slapping to her forehead. "The battery's dead. I _knew _I should have charged it last night, but I never expected I'd need to use it so much today."

"What about your phone, Duo?" Quatre asked, finishing helping Dorothy put all her possessions back into her bag.

Duo shook his head. "I left it off at home before you guys picked me up. Sorry."

"Well, now what?" Dorothy asked, closing the clasp on her bag with a definite _snap_.

"We'll have to use one of the hospital's phones," replied Heero. He grabbed his jacket off the back of a nearby chair, tossing it carelessly over one arm. "Wasn't there a nurse's station nearby? They'll have a phone that we can use."

"Good idea," Duo said, and began walking arm in arm with Hilde towards the station, Hilde still clutching him for consolation and support.

The group walked in silence, the sound of many shoes treading on the tiled floor beneath; the squeak of a still-wet sole breaking the monotony of the proceedings. Turning a corner, the station of Dolores and Agnes' veered into sight, the two nurses completed in reprinting the flyers that had been soaked prior this evening.

Dorothy began to move ahead of the pack, waving energetically to the elderly nurse. "Agnes!" she called out as they approached, Hilde softly explaining beneath her breath to the rest of the group how they had met the two nurses earlier tonight.

The warm, crinkled face of Agnes broke into a wide smile at the sight of Dorothy and Hilde. "Why, hello girls! What are you doing back here so soon? Did you find your friend yet?" she asked, giving Dorothy a pat on the hand, setting the flyers down on the desk. Dolores gave a disgusted sniff, as though upset to have seen the two girls so soon after their last encounter, but too aloof to say otherwise.

"Not yet, Agnes," replied Hilde. "We think we might know how to get hold of her, but my cell phone died before the call could go through."

"Oh, technology today is such a nuisance!" began Agnes, waving her hand dismissively. "Give me an old-fashioned telephone any day of the week."

"That's what we came to ask you about," Milliardo replied, moving closer to the nurse's desk. Duo and Heero moved in on opposite sides, flanking Milliardo.

Dolores suddenly seemed to warm to the group, obviously sighting the abundance of males. "You'd like to make a call?" she asked sweetly, moving to the other side of Agnes, closer to the said abundance. She leaned flirtishly against the counter.

"Yes," replied Heero. "Could I use it please? It's rather urgent."

"Of course you can!" spoke Agnes. "Go right ahead! Now mind you, don't be making any long distance calls." She gave another warm, grandmotherly smile.

"Err – right," he replied, taking the receiver from the now coyly outstretched hand of Dolores. She batted her eyes at Duo, gaining an ill look from a rather menacing-looking Hilde.

"What was her number again?" Heero asked, his finger poised above the number pad.

Milliardo began to read from the paper again, and Heero punched in the numbers. A collective breath was being held by the group. It was almost impossible to hope that Relena's captors had not taken her cellular phone away from her.

It was a great relief (and a great shock) when a slightly tinny voice replied, "Hello, Relena speaking," from the other end of the phone.

101010101

Outside of a small, late-night ice cream parlor, a sleek black limousine pulled up to the drive thru menu. The night was crisp and clean from the rain; the world had been soaked to deeper hues, and the road was slick and shiny with moisture. The driver of the limousine discretely rolled down his window, peering from behind heavy black sunglasses, and glanced over the menu. After few seconds his mind was made up, his face still remaining expressionless. He leaned towards the speaker box, his right hand grasping the edge of the car door for better balance, and recited his order with clarity. A few moments later, he drove to the pick up window, took hold of the ice creams in exchange for a few bills, and set about passing them to each of the passengers in the rear seats. Without so much as a word, he drove away, a small vanilla cone still in hand.

An unusual silence radiated from the vehicle, considering the fact that one of the passengers was a kidnapping victim, and a kidnapped person normally would be shouting his or her head off. However, this victim was far too busy to be worried about such trivial matters as being rescued.

"It's dripping all over the place! You should've brought more napkins, Caden!"

"Pardon _me_, but I wasn't in a position to be bringing you napkins; Walter was the one who ordered everything!"

"Don't make me waste the ice cream! Give me your napkins!"

"I'm not giving you mine, Relena, so use something else. That, or eat _quicker_!"

The elder man sitting in the driver's seat, trying in vain to enjoy his vanilla cone, was beginning to tire of the argument in the back. A dull throbbing had started in Walter's left temple ever since picking up the former Queen. His desire to end the bickering was now all-consuming, erasing all traces of self-control shown earlier at the drive-thru window.

He turned to face the squabbling duo in the rear, a small dribble of ice cream still stuck in his thin moustache. "_Take my napkins and be done with it_!" he shouted, tossing the flimsy serviettes through the dividing window into the back of the vehicle, leaving the vehicle to fend for itself in a lane of heavy traffic. Normally he wouldn't be so reckless, but he was to a point in his day that he stopped caring for his safety and the safety of others.

With the speed of a cat, Relena had moved forward and caught the free-falling napkins, and wiped the side of her cone free of drips. "Thank you, Walter," she chimed sweetly, sticking her tongue out at the younger kidnapper, Caden.

The drive to the ice cream parlor had consisted mainly of a quick bantering back and forth of information; Relena had promised to behave so long as she was told about why she had been kidnapped (and received an ice cream cone), and had been true to her word. Surprisingly, the only sound Relena made was when she had suggested he should get a cone for Caden and himself as well.

It had surprised Walter that she had made sure both of her kidnappers would eat alongside her (and though he'd never admit it, Walter was touched by the small act of kindness). What had shocked Walter the most was that Relena hadn't called for help immediately, which was the standard thing to do when one was in a kidnapped situation. He was beginning to wonder if Relena had an ulterior agenda she was working along. That, or she was incredibly stupid.

"So Merrick just hired you to pick me up and bring me to the airport?" Relena now asked, munching on the top scoop of her Rocky Road ice cream. "You hadn't met him before today?"

Caden, likewise working on his chocolate cone, replied, "He called Walter, his driver, and I just this afternoon. He said to get a hold of you 'by whatever means necessary' and immediately bring you to him, with or without your permission."

Relena nodded thoughtfully, wiping her chin off with a napkin. "So Walter's his limo driver. How do you know him, Caden?"

"I'm –" he began, but was cut off by an abrupt pointed coughing fit coming from Walter. He caught a piercing look from the elder driver via the rear-view mirror, and decided it'd be best to hastily change the subject.

"Never mind," he finished, clearing his throat in a final sort of way. "It isn't important."

Relena looked at him closely, obviously not believing him, but also not pressing the subject further. She nibbled on her ice cream more enthusiastically, yet never taking her eyes off him. Caden was beginning to grow nervous; he felt as though she could see into him, see through his feeble lies, and he was completely unable to stop her.

Finally the awkward tension was broken when Relena spoke up again. "So what was so urgent that I was to be taken 'by whatever means necessary' to Merrick? He could have just asked me and I would have come."

For a moment Caden couldn't understand what she had said. Why would she have allowed herself to be kidnapped to Merrick? Didn't she realize the _severity_ of her situation? Merrick had asked Walter and Caden to remove of Relena to Europe, where he would be waiting to take her as hostage. Relena, Caden supposed, was a close friend and ally of the Gundam pilots, and Merrick wanted to use her as bait to draw them out and be rid of them. Caden didn't really believe that was what Merrick wanted, though; Merrick could have killed the pilots easily enough several times, so why would he create such an elaborate scheme to do the same? Though he wouldn't admit it to Relena, Caden was as clueless about the situation as she was.

"I suppose he was afraid for your safety," Caden lied. "Seeing how there was the large attack at Diamro Field today, I guess Merrick wanted to take you somewhere safe, with or without your permission."

"But it wasn't an outside attack," Relena countered. "It was a rogue pilot within the competition that made the attacks on Samantha."

"Samantha?" Caden was suddenly concerned. "Do you mean Samantha Grey?"

"Yes. Did you know her?" Relena was also intrigued; if Caden knew her, then that gave her more insight into whom he really was.

He nodded gravely. "Samantha and I were close acquaintances, I guess you could say."

"I see." Though she was desperate to ask more questions about how exactly he knew her, Relena bit back the words for the time. There were more pressing matters that she needed to attend to. "Caden," she began, trying to mix sweetness as well as innocence into her tone of voice, "do you know where we're heading? I'd feel better at least knowing where I was being taken to". She did not want to come across as false, but she needed him to _want_ to tell her.

Caden, however, seemed to see no reason why not to tell her. He gave a slight glance towards Walter, but he was focused on driving through the lanes of traffic. Caden leaned in closer to Relena, speaking in a softer tone of voice, "We're heading to Frank Alison airport right now. Merrick wants you to join him over in Europe."

"Where in Europe? Will he be traveling with us?" she asked, hardly able to contain her excitement. She was so close to getting the information she needed to plan her rescue; she would only have to find a way of signaling to the Gundam pilots or the girls as to where she would be.

Caden opened his mouth to respond. "No, he's heading over on a later flight. We'll be going to–" he began, but was cut short by Walter.

"What're you two being so quiet about? Not having another 'escapade' back there, are you? I don't want to have to stop for another ice cream…"

"No, that wasn't it!" Caden responded hurriedly, moving speedily away from Relena. A slight pink tone had entered his cheeks. Relena couldn't help by giggle at him; he seemed to be such a sweet guy.

A jarring ringing tone cut suddenly through the air. Caden, for a moment, was confused as to what exactly was causing the sound, but it appeared Relena knew already. Without hesitating, nor thinking about it, Relena flipped open her petite purse, snatching the jangling cell phone from within it's depths, and answering sweetly, "Hello, Relena speaking."

Caden was stunned. How could he have forgotten to check for a cell phone on her? He had known she had one; after all, it was what Merrick had used to draw her outside the hospital. He was furious at his own stupidity.

"Idiot!" Walter snapped at Caden, breaking him from his inner scorn. "Take it from her quickly!" Walter was panicking at the current situation; he had thrown caution into the wind and turned around, but the sound of blaring car horns informed his interest would be best kept at driving.

Caden immediately lunged at Relena, grasping for the phone, but Relena was too quick. With a graceful arc, her right leg pressed softly into his stomach, stopping him from moving forward. Deftly she covered the mouthpiece, her tone a hushed, angry rasp. "If you cut me off now, the person on the other end will _know_ something is the matter and will come looking for me! If you let me finish this conversation, I _promise_ I won't tell them what's going on!"

Angrily he stared at her, wishing there was a fault in her logic somewhere. But he could see that she was right; disallowing the conversation to continue _now _would signal that something was wrong with Relena, and the caller would alert proper authorities. His only choice was to hope that she was good to her word, and wouldn't tell what was really happening.

A small smile threatened to reveal itself on Relena's lips. She knew she had won, but she wasn't about to rub it in. Sitting herself back into her regular position, tossing her hair over one shoulder, she cleared her throat and held the phone back to her ear. "Sorry about that," she said embarrassedly, "I just happened to have fallen down and couldn't get back up."

In the seat beside her, Caden groaned, slapping his hand to his forehead. This would not go well.

101010101

"Relena, is that really you?" Heero asked, nearly falling over because of the others around him, scrambling to get close enough to hear what was being said. On the other end, he could hear muffled sounds and a bit of shouting, but it wasn't clear enough to make out what was being said.

A few seconds later and slightly out of breath, Relena responded, feigning a story about falling down. Heero didn't believe it for a second, but he wasn't about to start contradicting her when he didn't know who was at the other end with her. Relena was already in a dangerous position; Heero didn't need to be the one to make it worse.

"Are you all right?" he asked, motioning impatiently towards Milliardo, who was mouthing to ask where she was. Giving a small nod, showing he understood Milliardo, Heero turned his attention back to Relena. There wouldn't be much time.

"Yeah, I'm all right, Heero," he heard her respond. "Just a bruise on my leg, but I'll be fine. Did you get that paper I sent you?"

At first he didn't understand what she meant. Paper? She had never gave him any paper…She must have been trying to signal something to him, but what? He looked to Dorothy and Duo, who were next closest to the phone's receiver, listening attentively, but they didn't seem to understand either. Dorothy pressed her ear even closer against the receiver, pushing it slightly into Heero's own ear.

"What are you talking about, Relena?" he asked, hoping she could somehow explain herself.

"You know; the _paper_ you asked me for. The questionnaire you had to fill out as _yes_ or _no, _multiple choice? I could help you go over the answers if you'd like."

Suddenly it dawned on him; _she_ _was giving him an opportunity to ask questions_. Dorothy seemed to understand as well, because she began quietly explaining what was going on to Duo, in turn informing the others. Relena was going to answer all the questions Heero would ask her, but she was disguising her answers so her kidnappers wouldn't catch onto what was happening.

Heero jumped into his questions immediately. "Relena, do you know where you are?"

"_No_, I'm pretty sure the third answer was B."

"Do you know where you're heading to?"

"_Yes_, you got that answer right."

"Can you tell me where? Name the continent if you can."

"Answer _E_."

Dorothy whispered beside him, "That'd be Europe, right?" to which Heero silently nodded yes.

Continuing on, the feeling of running out of time pressing in on him, Heero asked the question they were all wanting to be confirmed: "Was it Merrick who kidnapped you?"

Replying simply, Relena said, "Yes."

Suddenly, Heero heard a second, muffled voice besides Relena's. He could make out some of the words, but nothing that made sense. It was the voice of a man, not very old, but not young either; Heero thought he may be a few years older than Relena. The man was asking Relena to end her conversation with Heero. A short bantering of words ensued before Relena finally returned to the phone. "Sorry, Heero, it's been great talking with you, but I've got to _jet_ off. Say hello to Alice n' Frank for me."

"Who –" Heero tried to reply, but his only response was the sound of her cell phone hanging up. A brief silence swept into the group, its members trying to digest what exactly just happened.

"Who are 'Alice and Frank'?" Duo asked, "I didn't understand what she meant by that."

"Neither did I," Trowa agreed, sitting down in one of the metal chairs. He ran his fingers tiredly through his warm brown hair. Heavy silence followed as each person tried to figure out what was meant by Relena's words. It almost felt as if the stillness had become a palpable entity, pressing in on them as time slipped past.

_Alice and Frank_, Heero thought. _Who do I know with those names_? They felt familiar…he was sure he had heard of them somewhere. Perhaps were they participants in the competition? Heero thought not.

"You don't think…" Quatre began slowly, mulling over his words, "…that she meant Frank Alison Airport, do you? She said '_jet_' pointedly, didn't she?"

Realization dawning on her, Dorothy replied, "Yeah…she specifically said Alice _n'_ Frank, not Alice _and_ Frank. Alison Frank. Switch it around and its Frank Alison, like the airport."

Milliardo smiled. "She wouldn't have been able to outright say the airport's name; that would have been too obvious." A small chuckled escaped his lips. "Who would have thought Relena was clever enough to disguise so many hints to her whereabouts?"

Heero nodded, "She covered it up by acting as if they were friends of ours."

"Well, what are we waiting for?" Duo asked, enthusiastically slapping his palms together. Time was moving quickly forward, and every minute passing was another closer to losing and clues they had to Relena's whereabouts. "What's the plan? Who's going where with who?"

"I think Heero, Trowa and I should immediately head to FA Airport and try to catch Relena before she gets onto the plane," Milliardo began, looking to Trowa and Heero for agreement. "We may not get there in time to stop her, but we can at least try."

Quatre added, "Dorothy and I can contact the police headquarters in the meantime. There's a chance we can put officials on the lookout for anyone fitting a description of Relena's appearance."

"Good idea, Quatre," Dorothy said earnestly, causing a small blush to rise to Quatre's cheeks. Returning his smile, Dorothy then turned her attention to Hilde. "Will you be all right, seeing how you'll be left alone while we make a few calls?"

Hilde nodded in agreement. "I'll stay in the emergency ward and keep watch over Samantha. If she wakes up, and is in good enough condition, she might be able to give us some insight into watch exactly Merrick wants with Relena."

"So that's that," Milliardo said with finality. "Everyone: get moving."

101010101

The entryway to Frank Alison Airport was crowded and stuffy, nearly overflowing with late-night travelers going to and leaving from flights. Dozens of people were armed with drying umbrellas and folded rain ponchos, obviously waiting for flights since before the rain began. Others were toting wet hair and damp clothing, nearly dried in the warm air of the terminal. Excited chattering escaped from a group of teens nearby awaiting a flight, while there were more than a few people silent with exhaustion and readiness to go home. Relena couldn't help but be interested in her surroundings; she had been trapped within a limousine with two men for well over an hour, and was pleased to be out in the open again.

Much to Relena's distaste, she wore a yellow, plastic rain poncho with the hood pulled up over her head. 'Blissfully'(according to Walter), rain had broken out again as they prepared to leave the limousine, and so he had insisted she put on the poncho in order to hide her identity a bit, and without fuss she had agreed. Inwardly she believed the neon yellow made her stick out like a sore thumb, but she wasn't about to start playing the role of 'clever' with these men.

Caden walked to the left of Relena, his right arm lightly around her shoulders as his left gently clutched her left upper arm, appearing to others to be a friendly embrace, while Walter walked to her right and slightly behind, watching her every move. Relena knew Caden's mind was on finding and steering her to where their jet was taking off from, while it was Walter's job to watch her and make sure she didn't try anything suspicious. Normally she would be upset with such close contact, but she was surprisingly relaxed about Caden's nearness, and far too happy about being free from the limo to complain.

She flirted with the idea of simply running, escaping through the crowd and to freedom. She knew Walter wouldn't have the speed or strength to catch her, but she was less certain about Caden; he had obvious agility and quick reflexes (she recalled how quick he moved within the cramped area of the limo) and would most certainly swiftly overpower her. Then again, he couldn't do much to her if while she was running she screamed "Help! _they're trying to kidnap me!_"…

But before she could even think of running, Caden and Walter came upon two other people standing just ahead of them. One was a suited brown male, roughly mid-thirties, his hairless cranium immaculate and cold eyes staring attentively forward. He gave no sign of recognition of Relena or the others as they approached. The second was a pale female, about thirty, her black hair sleek and very long with bangs cropped to frame her face. Her eyes were bright green, and she wore an old-fashioned, military-styled cap and leather jacket. She gave Relena a quick smile and nod as she approached. Caden nudged Relena and whispered in her ear. "These two will help escort you to your flight."

"What! You're not coming with me!" she accidentally blurted out, looking at Caden with both surprise and embarrassment. Her cheeks flushed red at her outburst. Caden turned a pale shade of pink as well, but he smiled at her reassuringly.

The female smiled, releasing a small laugh. "Sorry, girl, but the man has business to attend to before he can hop over to England with us. Hello Walter, Caden." Her voice contained a hint of a foreign accent that was different from Merrick's own accent, and Relena was caught off guard by how kind and mirthful the raven-haired girl sounded.

Caden released his hold on Relena, and for a fleeting moment she wished he hadn't taken away the warmth of his arm on her shoulders. She glanced at him as he moved nearer to the woman and her silent companion, and noticed that the woman had extended her hand to her. Relena hastily extended her own hand as well, where it was shook in an enthusiastic manner.

"The name is Angelique," the raven-haired woman chimed, tipping back her military cap. "This gentleman here -" she gestured with her thumb to the black man beside her "- is Roland." Relena glanced at the man, who gave a slight nod of recognition before returning to his forward stare.

"I assume you are Relena Peacecraft, unless, of course, you happen to be an imposter…" Angelique gave a mock suspicious glance over Relena, startling Relena enough for a giggle to escape her lips. "Didn't think so," the older woman said coyly.

She slapped her palms together with finality. "Well now, I suppose we best be heading off. Don't want to be late for our flight." She winked at Caden. "I suggest you give your girl a goodbye kiss before she needs to run off, Caden."

Caden blushed crimson. "Really, Angelique, that wasn't necessary."

"Of course not, darling; anything that is necessary _certainly _can't be all that fun."

Caden shrugged towards Relena. "Well?"

"I don't know," Relena began slowly, a smile teasing at her mouth, "After what happened in the limo…"

"What? What happened in the limo?"

"_Angelique_!"

"_Tell me_, Caden. I really need to keep up on your romance life."

Caden laughed and stepped towards Relena, placed his hands gently on either of her upper arms, and gave her a quick kiss on the cheek. "There. Happy, Angelique?"

"Well, I'm not nearly as pleased as _she_ is with it, but I'll say I'm content."

101010101

A/N: Sorry for such a long delay in updates. I realize it has been months since the last chapter, but I wanted to get something up for anyone still reading the story. I'm currently debating with myself as to whether or not I should take the story down, edit, and resubmit it; now that I look back on my two-years ago writing style, it doesn't feel like it matches with what I have now. I believe I will eventually resubmit this story once I have time to focus of revamping the story.

Thank you to anyone still sticking with the story through such long periods of comatose

Kiwii


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